


The Lucky One

by byunsbbh



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Lucky One (Music Video), ChanBaek - Freeform, M/M, this is gonna suck
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-25
Updated: 2017-11-13
Packaged: 2018-12-06 22:42:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 20
Words: 48,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11610468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/byunsbbh/pseuds/byunsbbh
Summary: Exo - Lucky One (MV)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> hi!!! i just recently finished one fic, and i'm already back for another! and i know that this concept has probably already been done, but i am putting my own twist on it, like everyone has. everyone writes in different ways, so once story will never be just like the other just because of a concept. thank you & enjoy :)

Chanyeol.

 

When Chanyeol opens his eyes, it's as if they're still closed. He's surrounded by pure darkness, the kind that is darker than dark, so dark that even seeing your hand in front of you is impossible. The air around him is thick and heavy, humid like the aftermath of a summer rainstorm. His heart immediately starts to thump as he realizes that he's tied to a bed.

Chanyeol struggles against the restraints, starting to breathe heavily as he does. Panic rises in his chest, gripping at his heart and throat. He can feel the fear spreading into every corner of his body, like an incurable disease.

"Hello?" Chanyeol croaks out, panicked tears already starting to run down his cheeks.

The only reply he receives is silence, and for some reason, this _relieves_ him. Perhaps being alone in this situation is much better. 

He tries his best to relax as the boy stares up at the ceiling above him. He breathes deeply, trying to remain calm.

As his eyes adjust to the darkness, he looks around and notices a small table beside of him, and realizes that the room he's confined in smells slightly like a hospital.

"Hello?" he calls again, mostly just to hear himself speak in an attempt to relax. 

This time, however, Chanyeol gets a reply.

 _"Shut up,"_ a deep voice hisses softly from across the room.

Goosebumps form down Chanyeol's arms, and his heart practically bursts as the man speaks.

"Where am I?" he asks, trying to crane his head to see the person that spoke.

But doing so is impossible; his whole body is tied down. 

"Shut _up!"_  the mystery voice hisses again. "Just be _quiet."_

Chanyeol immediately pipes down, his whole body consumed with terror as he silently cries. 

 

  
Kyungsoo.

 

Kyungsoo has been awake for quite some time. Though he was frightened like any person would be if they were to wake up in a strange room bound to a bed, he managed to stay surpassingly calm. And doing so has helped his situation immensely. He was able to notice that he's in a circular room, and that there are eight other men with their own bed's all around him. They're arranged in a circle, a small table and IV pump in between each bed. It's like a hospital, but it's not a place for healing, that's for sure.

Kyungsoo can see mirrors around the walls, but he knows that they must be one way. Whoever kidnapped them have to keep an eye on them _somehow_.

It's all been quite calm answering uneventful until the boy two beds to his right started scrambling around and yelling. Kyungsoo had only told him to be quiet to save his _own_ ass, if he was being honest. He knew that if he just stayed to himself and kept calm, he would have a better chance of living. That's common sense.

He doesn't care if that other boy lives or dies.

"Who are you? Where am I?" the boy calls again.

Kyungsoo is just plain frustrated now. Can the other boy just _shut up? Is it that difficult?_

"Do you want to _die?"_

"No," the boy whispers.

"Then shut up."

This quiets the stranger and even puts an end to his constant moving and heavy breathing.

Kyungsoo almost thinks that the quiet and calm will make its return when yet _another_ man starts to squirm.

And this time, he wakes up with a loud, blood-curdling, scream.

  
Baekhyun.

As soon as his eyes open, Baekhyun is fucking _terrified_. He doesn't know where he is, it's quite dark, and he's tied to a bed. That seems like good enough reason to panic.

So he screams, loudly and powerfully. Maybe he's been kidnapped. Or maybe he's _dead_ , and this is his eternal punishment. Whatever the case, Baekhyun is freaking the fuck _out_.

  
_"Shhhh!"_

He turns his head to his left as far as he can. The sound came from close by.

"Where am I?," he asks softly.

"Be _quiet,"_ a man demands; he sounds _angry_.

"No! I want to know where I am!" Baekhyun demands, struggling against the ropes that keep him attached to the bed.

There's no response this time, but he still continues to talk; hearing his own voice in the dark room makes his heart beat a little slower. 

"Just let me go, _please?_ I won't tell _anyone_. I don't know who you are, but I _promise_ no one will find out about this. I won't tell-"

There's a soft chuckle.

"What's so funny?" Baekhyun cries, struggling against his ropes again.

"Byun Baekhyun."

A shiver runs down Baekhyun's spine at the sound of his own name. He immediately ceases his razed movement, his whole body frozen in terror.

"What?" he asks softly, his voice trembling as his throat starts to close up as tears full of fear threaten to fall from his eyes.

The man even knows his _name_.

"It's Kyungsoo. Do Kyungsoo? From Trigonometry?"

Baekhyun's heart immediately puts a stop its hectic beating, and his mind relaxes. He lets out a deep breath, grinning widely to himself despite the situation at hand.

"Why'd _you_ kidnap me?"

Kyungsoo chuckles. " _I_ didn't. Both of us have been kidnapped, dumbass. There's nine of us in here."

Baekhyun's blood seems to turn to ice at this, his mind starting to panic once again. There is no relaxing for long when you've been kidnapped. 

"Why aren't they talking?" he asks, trying to look around.

Baekhyun sees beds just like his own at either side of him, boys tied to them just like he is.

"I suspect they've been put  
to sleep , like all of us were. There's someone awake over here, though," Kyungsoo mumbles.

Baekhyun looks over, but it seems as though everyone is still asleep.

"Hello?" he calls.

There's a sniffle from two beds to the left of him.

"Be _quiet_. Do you want to _die?"_ a voice replies in a mocking tone.

Kyungsoo practically growls from his bed. "Don't be like that to me, shitbag. You were being too loud."

"And _he's_ not?" the other boy calls as he shifts in his bed. "He was _screaming_. You're only being nice to him because you know him."

For some reason, this makes Baekhyun feel a tad guilty; he's never liked favoritism in any situation, even though _he's_ usually the favorite.

But he has no time to feel guilt, because, at that moment, the room is flooded in sudden light.

It's so bright that Baekhyun thinks that his eyes might shrivel up and fall out of his head. It hits him powerfully like a punch to the face, the sudden glow making his heat scream in agony.

His eyes fly closed immediately, a gasp escaping his mouth as they do.

Kyungsoo cries out from his bed, while the other boy just lets out a grunt. 

After a few moments, Baekhyun forces himself to pry his lids open.

He immediately regrets doing so.

Everything is now clear and more frightening than ever.

He squints through the bright lights, taking in his surroundings.

He is dressed in a pure white hospital gown, just like everyone else in the circular room is. But, for some reason, he also wears white dress shoes. What an outfit choice!

Nine beds are arranged in a circle that lines the walls. Baekhyun can see Kyungsoo a few beds down, but he looks... _strange_. And the other boy, who has bright red hair and wide is, is visible two just beds over. 

He looks strange, just like Kyungsoo.

Then, Baekhyun notices the mirrors that line the walls, and realizes that he look strange as well.

It's an almost indescribable type of "strange."

His skin seems very waxy, yet it's glowing as if someone did his makeup. It shines and shimmers like glitter, resembling the skin of a vampire from Twilight when they would step into the sunlight. And his hair is styled perfectly, so perfectly that any stranger would have never been able to guess that Baekhyun had been kidnapped.

But the worst part about all of this is his eyes. They are no longer dark brown, but pure _black._ It's _a_ drop of black ink in a small pool of milk. It's Ying and Yang, the completely darkness and the beautiful light swirled together in the most disturbing way _possible_.

He comes to the conclusion that he look like an alien that's ready for a hospital cafeteria dinner party.

He looks over and notices the other two craning their heads to check themselves out as well.

"What happened to our _eyes?"_ the other boy mumbles.

Baekhyun looks around again, this time examining the boys beside of him.

One has light, dirty blond hair. He's turned into his side and tied up that way for some strange reason, so Baekhyun has no way of seeing his face.

The boy on the other side of Baekhyun has pure black hair and _extremely_ handsome features. His face is well proportioned and angel-like. Even with the strange skin, he looks like an absolute _prince_.

"Do you recognize anyone else?" Kyungsoo asks as he looks around.

Baekhyun shakes his head. "No. Do you two?"

Kyungsoo shakes his head along with the other boy.

"What's _your_ name, by the way?" Baekhyun curiously asks the other boy, who gives him a distrustful glance.

"What's is to _you?"_

Baekhyun is a bit taken aback st the sudden rudeness. "I just want to be able to address you properly. Is that too much an invasion of your _precious_ privacy?"

_"Watch it-"_

"Hey!" Kyungsoo shouts sternly from his bed. "Cut that shit _out_."

"What happened to you being _quiet?"_

Kyungsoo groans. "Just tell him your goddamn name and shut up."

  
The other boy sighs in defeat as he rolls his eyes. "It's _Chanyeol_. You're, Baekhyun right? And Kyungsoo?"

Baekhyun nods, trying to sit up a little more. The beds are already at a sort of tiled angle, like when you sit in a recliner. So he's basically sitting up. But he wants more, even just a little bit, even though he knows it's probably impossible.

"Do you know why we're here?" Chanyeol asks Kyungsoo.

Kyungsoo shakes his head, taking a deep breath as he does. "How would _I_ know?"

"Well, I was just-"

"Who are you?" an unfamiliar voice cuts Chanyeol off.

Baekhyun glances over at the handsome man that lays between himself and Chanyeol.

His eyes are halfway open, and he hasn't moved; he's still half asleep.

"Are you okay?" Baekhyun asks softly.

The boy opens his eyes fully, looking extremely panic-stricken. Baekhyun wonders if that's how _he_ had looked when he woke up.

"Who are you _people?_ Where am I?" he asks frantically, tears already streaming down his face.

Baekhyun can't help but smile. He has an unconvinet habit of smiling and making the best out of bad situations.

"Calm down! You'll be okay. I don't know where we are, but I'm Baekhyun. What's your name?" 

Kyungsoo scoffs. "Don't be so _soft_ , Baekhyun. Everyone already knows you're gay, but must you make it _so obvious?"_

Baekhyun immediately shuts his mouth, his cheeks immediately feeling hot. 

The man next to him is full on _sobbing_ at this point, struggling against his restraints as he does.

"Why am I here?"

Kyungsoo shushes him. "Calm _down_. We've all been kidnapped and brought here, and there's nine of us. That's all we know. Do you remember anything?"

The man shakes his head as he cries. "No! I was walking home from my dad's house, and now I'm here. Am I gonna _die?"_

Chanyeol groans. "Shut _up!_ Do any of us seem dead yet?"

"Don't act like you weren't scared, Chanyeol. Anyone would be," Kyungsoo mumbles.

Baekhyun notices that the tension between those two has been growing steadily with every second. There are eye rolls and small arguments and smart remarks.  He suspects that's there'll be fighting between those two for the rest of the time they have to spend trapped in this hospital-like hell hole. 

 -----

Hours and hours pass, but nothing new happens. Chanyeol falls asleep, and Kyungsoo stares straight into the mirror, not saying a word.

Baekhyun has tried endlessly to strike up conversation with the man beside of him, but he always gets the same response.

"Leave me alone."

So he does just that and stays to himself, considering just going back to sleep like Chanyeol just to pass the time confined in an unfamiliar place.

 

Junmyeon.

Junmyeon doesn't know how everyone around him is so _comfortable_. How is that Baekhyun guy _smiling?_ How do Chanyeol and that other guy have time to argue? How are they laid back when they're tied to beds and trapped in a room they don't recognize?

What scares Junmyeon the most is that he can't remember getting here. That and the fact that there are other men around him that are fast asleep having nice dreams, completely oblivious to what's happened.

The one to his left that's in between the two that keep arguing has completely black hair like Junmyeon's. And Junmyeon can help but notice the unnaturally shiny, glowing quality of everyone's skin. He knows something just isn't _right_ , that this is no normal kidnapping, and his mind just can't _take it._

So he cries and cries and fucking _cries_ until he runs out of tears. He doesn't want to talk to Baekhyun, who just recently stopped bothering him, and he doesn't want to go back to sleep.

He just wants to go home.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi i'm back

Jongdae.

 

When Jongdae wakes up, there's a conversation going on.

He doesn't even bother to try and struggle or fret about the situation that he's very aware of. He just keeps his eyes closed to avoid confrontation as he listens carefully.

"Do you really not remember anything? Nothing at _all?"_ a deep voice across the room asks.

Someone scoffs. "You keep asking the same question, and the answer is always 'no.'"

A soft voice speaks up immediately, as if they want to change the subject desperately. "I think we should get to know each other, hmm? Wouldn't that make this a bit better? You know like, knowing each other? Chanyeol! Tell us about yourself!"

The man that must be the one named "Chanyeol" groans. "We're fucking tied up in a weird room, our eyes are fucked up, our skin looks like _glitter_ , there's five other guys passed out around us, and we don't know how we got here. But your main concern is _small talk?"_

There's a tired chuckle. "Just tell us."

Chanyeol sighs. "Fine. My name is Park Chanyeol. I live in Seoul with my family, and I write songs."

"What's the last thing you remember?" Baekhyun asks.

This sends a shiver down Jongdae's spine. What do they mean _"the last thing?"_  Do they not remember everything too?

"I was on my way to dinner with some friends, and then it's all just black from there. Someone else go now," Chanyeol says softly. He sounds near tears.

"I will!" Baekhyun says with a bit too much enthusiasm. "I'm Byun Baekhyun. I play piano, and te last thing I remember is being at home in bed. I think that's it?"

"Don't forget that you're _gay!"_ the man across the room yells playfully.

Baekhyun immediately becomes defensive, taking what was obviously meant as a joke to a whole other level.

"Hey! Don't say stuff like that."

"But everyone at school knows? We know about you and-"

Baekhyun is yelling now. " _Shut up!_ You go now! I'm done talking."

Jongdae almost wants to laugh. Since when did being kidnapped become a situation that included lame high school drama?

The man across the room sighs. "Fine. I'm Do Kyungsoo, and I don't really do anything special. I'm a part of the debate team, though that's about it. And the last thing I remember is being on the phone with my friend. Anything else?"

There's silence.

"No, that's all of us," Chanyeol mutters.

Jongdae feels the urge to grin as he opens his eyes, the sudden light causing him to squint. This is such a great time to come into the conversation, like a _surprise_ of sorts.

"You haven't done me yet," he says loudly and clearly.

Baekhyun gasps. "Who was that?"

Jongdae takes this time to let out the laugh he's been holdin in. He's always hated his laugh because of it's strange, "ha ha ha" sound, but he doesn't mind showing it off now. He's gonna die anyway.

"I'm Kim Jongdae. I'm in the choir at my high school. How's it going?"

Jongdae chuckles again; he makes himself laugh.

Chanyeol groans. "Oh! So now we've got the funny guy."

"Why are you such a _bitch?"_ Kyungsoo asks, his tone annoyed.

There's only silence after that, so Jongdae takes a nice look around, thankful that he successfully dodged the "what's the last thing you remember" question as he does.

Thanks to the fact that the beds are tilted to make it to where Jongdae is almost sitting upright, he can see almost everything around him.

There's a man on his right that has a nice, model-like face and skin that seems to sparkle like diamonds. And to his left, there's another man with dirty blonde hair, very pink lips, and that same weird skin. But, unlike everyone else, he's tied up on his side. This angle makes it to where he is faced directly at Jongdae.

Jongdae jumps a little at the sight, his heart thumping for no apparent reason. 

"Why is he on his side?" he asks out loud to no one in particular.

"I have no clue," Baekhyun mumbles.

Jongdae tries his best to look over at Baekhyun, but all he can make out is the sparkles and nicely trimmed black hair; he cant see his face very well. He looks across the room and sees who must be Kyungsoo. His hair is fairly short, and he has very strange features. His lips are oddly big, and his eyes and overly wide. And his skin is the same. And he eyes are weird. They're not dark brown, but pitch black like his hair.

 The man close to him must be Chanyeol. He has wide eyes as well, but they're handsome. He also had bright red hair that he must've dyed to be up with trends. Jongdae would never even _think_ of destroying his own hair like that .

"So, what's going on?" Jongdae asks, even though he knows _exactly_ what's going on.

Baekhyun looks over at him with a bright smile. "We have no clue. But it's better not to panic, right?

"Oh would you shut _UP?"_ a man beside of Baekhyun practically screams.

Jongdae looks over, his eyebrows scrunched in confusion. Who does _this guy_ think he is?

Then man opens his eyes, tears running down his cheeks. He's quite attractive, every corner of his face somehow perfect.

"What?" Chanyeol asks in disbelief.

"Could you all just be _quiet?_ This isn't a situation to be making _jokes_ and having a fun fucking time!" He yells through his tears. "We could all _die!_ We've been fucking _kidnapped_ , and they did shit to us. Did you even see yourselves?"

This makes Jongdae look across the room at one of the mirrors that line the wall.

His skin is like everyone else's: shimmery and waxy. And his eyes are like theirs too, no longer brown but pure _black_.

He looks back over at the man, who is still talking.

"You're all so stupid! Why are you fighting and bickering and making each other feel bad when you should be working _together?_ You're all fucking crazy! We should be figuring out a way to get _out_ of here!"

Jongdae grins to himself, wanting to laugh at how ignorant the man is.

There is no way out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh shit!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi

Sehun.

When Sehun wakes up, he's not too frightened at first. The hospital smell and bright lights make plenty of sense, along with the nauseous feeling in his stomach. (Those damn pills they give him _always_ make him sick.)

He's been in the hospital for weeks because of his.... _slip up._

So nothing surprises him until he tries to move to retrieve his phone, which he usually keeps on the wooden nightstand beside of his bed and realizes that his arms are tied to the sides of the bed.

"What the _fuck?"_ he says as he looks down, realizing that this just isn't right.

His hospital gown doesn't look like this. His are usually decorated in flowers or hearts, but these are plain white. His bed doesn't look like this. His has stairs that he uses to exit when he's too weak to just stand straight up. And his nurse doesn't usually tie him up.

"You're awake," a soft voice says from across the room.

Sehun immediately looks up, now terrified as he struggles against the thick rope.

"Who are you?" He looks around as he says this, realizing that there are eight others in the room with him. And this is no regular hospital room.

"Where am I? Is this some kind of _help circle?_ Because I'm fine now," Sehun says as his anxiety starts to kick in, trying his best to convince himself that all this is is some stupid idea of his therapist's and nothing more.

But how could it be? All of the men are arranged in a circle with strange clothes on and a strange look to them, like they're aliens. Some are awake, and some still sleep. How could this be a help circle?

"We've been kidnapped," a man to his right says in a bored tone, as if this is old news to him.

This doesn't register in Sehun's mind. He literally won't let it. Being kidnapped is one of his biggest fears, and he can't freak out here. He told himself he wouldn't freak out anymore, especially not in public.

"What?" he asks, playing stupid.

The same man rolls his eyes. "Look around you. We've been _snatched_ , to put it lightly. So don't worry about freaking out. I've had enough of that for one day."

Sehun feels tears start to brim his eyes. This is _real._

"Why are _you_ not freaking out?" he asks softly, looking down into his lap.

There's a scoff from the bed to his left.

"There's no use. What good will it do?

Sehun looks over at the man who is smiling, of all things. And he comes to the conclusion that, for the first time, he isn't the craziest person in a room.

\-------

Jongin _._

When Jongin regains consciousness, strangers are staring at him.

It takes a moment for him to register that he's in an unfamiliar place tied to a bed, but he's more worried about the way the people around him are staring him down.

"What?" Jongin asks as he rubs softly against the rope that holds him to the hospital bed, trying not to be too obvious in case any of these men are dangerous.

A sweet-looking boy with a bright face and nice hair immediately flashes Jongin a smile, but his eyes seem scared.

"Your _eyes_...," a boy with red hair mumbles from across the room, his mouth wide open in shock.

Jongin furrows his brow as he looks around. Six men are awake, staring at him intensely. They all have strange, pure black eyes and skin that looks like it's drowned in one of his sister's face highlighters.

Then, he notices the mirrors around him, and he realizes why he's receiving such stares.

His hair is bleach blond, but that's nothing new. He'd dyed it before the start of school to start fresh and give off a new sort of vibe. But his eyes are the thing that make him gasp.

They're _blue_ , bright blue like the soft petals of a forget-me-not. They're glowing and powerful, resembling the contacts that people with dark eyes sometimes wear to try something different. Maybe that's what they are, just contacts.

"Maybe they're just contacts," Jongin mumbles, voicing his thoughts as he resist the urge to try and touch the shining skin beneath his eyes. 

"Why are you not losing your shit?" a guy with black hair asks from beside of him, his words breathy.

Jongin shrugs. "Where are we? _Should_ I be losing my shit?"

The red haired guy rolls his strangely wide eyes. "You're tied to a hospital bed, and your eyes are fucking _blue_. Don't you _think_ you should?"

Jongin shrugs again. "Why aren't _you?"_

"We've already been there and done that. Yeah, our skin is weird. And everyone has black ass eyes except for you. And we're tied up. What else is there to worry about?" The red haired man asks.

Jongin shrugs again. It seems as though that's all he can do. He so lost and still so exhausted from being asleep for so long. He has no strength to do anything but shrug.

"What are your names?" the red haired boy asks, looking at both Jongin and the black-haired boy with the big nose that sits next to him.

"I'm Sehun," the other boy says softly. "Oh Sehun."

"Tell us about yourself," the boy with the soft voice and black hair asks.

"I like to dance."

This makes Jongin want to smile; he's always loved to dance.

"And I've uh....I've been in the hospital for a while," Sehun mutters.

"For what?" a deep voice asks.

Sehun immediately looks uncomfortable. "Something happened."

"Like what?" the same voice asks again.

Jongin almost wants to step in. It's obvious that this is making Sehun anxious, so why not just drop it?

"It's no big deal," Sehun says, trying to smile as he does.

"Then why bring it up?"

"I just-"

"Enough!" the boy with the soft face cuts Sehun off. "Chanyeol, why are you _always_ trying to fight? Calm down."

"Fine," the man who must be named "Chanyeol" says with a sigh, "What about you?"

He looks right at Jongin as he speaks.

Jongin's mind immediately goes blank. "What?"

The boy with the soft face giggles. "Tell us about yourself! I'm Baekhyun. Who are you?"

Jongin grins, internally scolding himself for being so ignorant at a time like this.

"I'm Kim Jongin, and I work at my father's chicken shop. That's all, I guess."

"What's the last thing you remember?" Chanyeol asks.

"I was going to work," Jongin says softly, looking down into his lap.

There's silence after that, for which Jongin is thankful. This gives him a moment to think, to at least _try_ to understand what's happening.

  
Yixing.

When Yixing wakes up, he _knows_ he's not at home.

Sure, he can't see anything or anyone, but this isn't his bed. It's not soft, and his pillows aren't fluffy. He can't feel the light streaming into his face from the window, he can't hear his mother playing music downatriats, and his hands are tied up. This isn't his home.

"Hello?" he calls out, his eyes moving about quickly as if they are looking around the room.

"What did he just say?" a deep voice right beside of him asks.

This frightens Yixing even more. Why are there people speaking _Korean?_

"Do I _look_ like I speak Chinese to you?" another oddly deep voice on the opposite side speaks.

There's a sigh from his left. "Does _anyone_ in here speak Chinese?"

"I kind of know how," a soft yet powerful voice says from across the room.

"Hi," the same voice says again, but this time in Chinese. "Do you speak any Korean?"

Yixing nods, though he immediately regrets it. Saying no would've been safer. It would've kept the spotlight off of him.

"Then hi," the other voice speaks again.

Yixing's hands are starting to shake as his heart races in his chests. How the _fuck_ did he get tied to a bed surrounded by _Koreans?_

"Where am I? Where's my....," Yixing trails off, his frantic mind forgetting some words of his Korean briefly, " _mom_. Where's my mom?"

There's a chuckle to his right. "Look around you. I don't think your mom is here anywhere."

Yixing truly feels like crying at this point, utter terror eating him alive.

"I can't."

"What?" a new voice asks from across the room. "Why?"

"I'm blind," Yixing says softly, a tear running down his cheek.

His vision impairment has always been quite a sensitive topic for him. Call him weak or a baby, he doesn't care. The fact that he can't see matters more to him than any rude comment ever could. It keeps him from doing everything and going anywhere. He has no friends and does nothing special, all because of his stupid eyes.

c"Holy _shit,"_ the voice to his right says softly. "No wonder your eyes kept wondering."

Yixing nods, wanting to wipe his tears away, but unable to. "Where are we?"

"You've been kidnapped, we all have. And I guess you're far from home," the voice to his left says.

Yixing nods. "Can you tell me what this room looks like? And why I'm tied up?"

"It's like a hospital room, but there are mirrors, and there are nine of us arranged in a circle. All of us are awake except for one. There are IV pumps and little tables, and we're all tied up so we can't escape... _duh,"_ the man to his right says.

Yixing nods, trying not to panic.

"What are your names?"

"I'm Chanyeol," the same voice says again. "And the one to your left is Kyungsoo. Across from you is... _Jongin_ , right?"

There's silence, so Yixing assumes someone has nodded.

"And beside of him is Sehun, then Jongdae, then a guy that's still asleep, then Baekhyun, that guy that keeps _yelling_ at us-"

"My name is _Junmyeon_ , you douchebag," someone growls.

Yixing almost wants to laugh.

Chanyeol chuckles. "Yeah, sorry. Anyway, then it's me and you. That's it. It's a circle. Oh and we all have really weird ass skin, like it's _sparkly_ , and our eyes are pure black, not brown. Yours are too, except they're kinda... _cloudy_. Anything else?"

Yixing gasps, gripping the sheets beneath him. "They _did_ something to us?"

Chanyeol hums in agreement. "They had to have. Now, you gotta tell us about yourself because we all did that."

Yixing nods, more tears spilling out of his eyes. He wants his mother, the woman that always shielded him from all things bad, more than _ever_.

"My name is Zhang Yixing, and I'm from China. I'm homeschooled and kept in the house a lot, but I'd like to be an actor one day," he says softly, taking a deep breath as he does.

"Aw! That's so _cute!"_ a high-pitched voice pipes up from Yixing's right.

"Who was _that?"_ Yixing asks curiously.

"It's Baekhyun!" Baekhyun yells with a giggle.

Yixing nods, leaning back into his bed with one thought in his mind.

How much longer until he can go home?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> after this we are done w intro and the plot will pick up I'm EXCITED


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry i haven't updated in a while :( i've been really discouraged and uninspired. i'm sorry.
> 
>  
> 
> also --- minor trigger warning!!!!

_Baekhyun (from here on until further notice)_

 

Baekhyun doesn't even realize that he had been asleep until he suddenly wakes up.

His eyes slowly open, and for just a moment, his heart races. He'd forgotten about all of this, the kidnapping and strange room, l of it.

But, once his mind remembers the sickening situation, his heart slowly ceases its panicked beating.

"Hey," he croaks out, closing his eyes again as he does. "What'd I miss?"

Then, he feels the slightest touch on his face from soft, careful fingers.

Baekhyun immediately jumps up, his eyes wide open and his breath speeding up.

He looks over and is faced with Kyungsoo, who is standing up right beside of his bed.

"What the fuck?" Baekhyun screams as Kyungsoo starts to laugh, a wide smile surrounded by heart-shaped lips immediately decorating his face. 

"Look down," Kyungsoo says softly.

Baekhyun's eyes travel down to his hands, which are no longer tied to the bed. A smile creeps onto his face as he immediately leaps up, his shoes touching the floor with a loud thump.

He stretches out his muscles, breathing deeply as he does. It feels like being free from a prison, like seeing the light of day after years of being inside. It's fresh and beautiful, the feeling of sturdy ground under his feel uplifting and beautiful. 

"Who untied us?"

Kyungsoo shrugs as he grins. "Probably whoever has us held in here. I know they somehow drugged us again. Maybe with gas or something? We all passed out around the same time."

Baekhyun nods, walking around the room as he does. He investigates each corner and crack, taking better looks at everyone's faces as he does.

And one thing he happens to notice is Chanyeol.

He hadn't really paid attention before, but now, he takes a nice look at the boy with bright hair and a deep voice. He pauses by the boy's bed, his eyes pulled in close.

Chanyeol has beautiful facial structure Baekhyun has ever seen. Each curve is golden and shining, making Baekhyun want to just _touch him_ and nothing more. His lips are plump and pink, and his cheeks are round and full, giving him a soft soft of look. 

"Why are you staring?"

Baekhyun immediately jumps back, his face already burning.

"Nothing," he mutters as he continues to walk around, not daring to turn and look at Kyungsoo.

Kyungsoo chuckles. "You know, you don't have to hide-"

He stops suddenly, cutting off his own words immediately.

"What?" Baekhyun asks curiously turning around to face the other side of the circle as he does.

Kyungsoo is standing rigid by Jongin's bed, staring at the IV pump in front of him.

"What?" Baekhyun asks as he makes his way over to Kyungsoo, pushing his body that seems to be frozen in place to the side.

Jongin's IV pump is filled with a dark grey liquid, the strange substance pumping into his veins.

"What the fuck is _that?"_ Baekhyun asks softly.

Kyungsoo clears his throat nervously. "I have no clue, but look around."

Baekhyun glances up at the pumps, that are all now filled with different colors, each one bright and welcoming yet _deadly_.

Sehun is green.

Chanyeol is deep red.

Jongdae is yellow.

Junmyeon is dark blue.

The strange man that lays on his side is light blue.

Yixing's is empty, as well as Baekhyun's and Kyungsoo's.

A shiver runs down Baekhyun's spine. 

"What do you think it is?" Kyungsoo asks softly.

Baekhyun shakes his head, scolding himself for staring at people's faces instead of noticing this mystery earlier.

"Why are ours empty? And Yixing?" Baekhyun asks.

Kyungsoo shrugs as he walks back to his bed, plopping down onto the mattress. And as he does, he gasps.

" _Baekhyun_....."

"Huh?" Baekhyun asks as he takes a seat as well, running a hand through his hair as he does.

"Look at your arm," Kyungsoo says, his deep voice almost a whisper.

Baekhyun almost doesn't want to look down. His heart tells him not to, that just staying ignorant to what's happening would be less painful, but his mind forces his eyes to travel down to the inside of his elbow.

There's a small, almost invisible tan bandage over his vein.

"What the-"

"Look at my bag," Kyungsoo mutters as he quickly rises to his feet once again. "There are drops in it, pink ones. It's been drained. We already have that shit _in_ us."

Baekhyun's blood runs cold at that. He looks at up his own bag, and he can see tiny drops of clear liquid. He wishes it was water.

"Do you think Yixing's been drained as well?" Baekhyun asks as he picks at his nails nervously, giving up on trying to break the terrible habit. 

Kyungsoo shakes his head as he sighs. "No. His seems _completely_ empty."

Baekhyun nods as he leans back into his bed, not exactly knowing how to process this situation. He rubs at his wrists, which are still a bit sore from the rope, his mind racing as he does. 

Sure, he hadn't been all that comfortable with this whole set-up, but he had became calm. He had gotten used to the people and the situation, almost so used to t that the fear had completely subsided. Now, however, it's as if he's started _all_ over again. He's back to panicking and wanting to scream with all of his might. 

They injected strange substances into him and everyone else. How could he not be afraid? He knows it's nothing natural, nothing good. His mind races with different possibilities, with different senerios. When the word "death" pops into his thoughts, he shivers. 

At that moment, there's shuffling from across the room.

Baekhyun looks up at Sehun, who has opened his eyes. And, he notices that Sehun's liquid has also completely drained into his body, the last drop entering the boy's vein as his eyes open. 

"Hey," he says softly. He moves his hands as he speaks. "How'd we get free?" 

Baekhyun shrugs. "I have no clue. But our main concern at the moment is this shit they're putting in our blood. Do you see?"

Sehun looks up at his empty IV bag, and his mouth immediately falls open. He looks back at Baekhyun with wide eyes. "What is it?"

Kyungsoo clears his throat. "Don't know, don't care. What _I'm_ worried about," he looks over at Baekhyun as he speaks, "is getting out of here."

"And how do you suppose we do _that?"_ a new voice piped up.

Baekhyun looks over at Jongdae, who has already woken up and risen to his feet without anyone noticing. For some reason, this sends a shiver down Baekhyun's spine. Something about Jongdae gives him _terrible_ vibes.

"That door has to be locked," Jongdae says with an all too playful smirk as he points at the large door that neither Baekhyun or Kyungsoo had even tried to open when they'd noticed it. "And they won't leave us alone like this _forever_ , you know."

Kyungsoo looks over at him, his eyes squinting in confusion. _"What?"_

Jongdae's face turns red as he immediately sits back down, his eyes panicked as he starts to wring his hands. 

"What did you say?" Who's 'they?' What do you know?" Kyungsoo asks again, getting closer to Jongdae.

Baekhyun wants to smile as Kyungsoo gets closer, his eyes glaring and his face serious. It's almost comical. 

"I obbisouly meant our _kidnappers,"_ Jongdae says quickly, scooting into his bed as far as he can.

"Did you?" Kyungsoo asks, his deep voice just a whisper as he gets into Jongdae's face. "Because you-"

 _"Hey!"_ a voice calls from beside of Baekhyun.

Baekhyun turns his head swiftly to face Chanyeol, who has a _serious_ case of bed head. The red waves have been tangled messily on top of his head, and his eyes seem to be even _wider_ after being closed for so long. All of this gives him an effortlessly cute aura, making Baekhyun muffle a giggle behind his soft palm.

"Get away from him, would you?" Chanyeol says as he yawns. "And-" 

His eyes light up and his words stop as he catches sight of his freed hands. A wide, bright smile spreads across his face as he suddenly leaps up.

But, just as Baekhyun had expected, the excited boy falls to the floor immediately, his legs not used to carrying his weight after not standing for so long. 

Baekhyun quickly walks over to make use of himself and help Chanyeol up, crouching down to his level as he does.

"Why do you think I need _help?"_ Chanyeol asks with a scoff as Baekhyun holds out a hand to him.

"Because you _fell?"_

Chanyeol grins as he shakes his head, taking Baekhyun's small hand in his as he rises from the floor.

Baekhyun can't resist the blush that rises to his cheeks at that smile and the touch of the large hand.

He internally scolds himself for being romantic in this type of setting.

"So who let us out? What's happening?" Chanyeol asks once he's able to walk again.

Baekhyun gasps as he stands next to Chanyeol. The man practically _towers_  over him, his head far above Baekhyun's. 

Kyungsoo shrugs at Chanyeol. "I have no clue. Ask this guy."

Baekhyun looks over at Jongdae, whose eyes are full of fear for the first time since he first woke up. Baekhyun can't blame him; Do Kyungsoo can be quite terrifying, even if he is just a theatre nerd at a small high school. 

"I don't think he knows anything, Kyungsoo," Baekhyun says softly.

Kyungsoo doesn't even bother answering, the short man just sighing as he sits back down on his own bed.

And things are mostly silent after that. Bags empty, people wake up, Baekhyun _explains_ the bags, then more silence.

It's all boring, all a void of nothingness. That is until there's a large cracking noise from across the room.

Baekhyun turns his head swiftly, his eyes landing on Kyungsoo.

The man is standing and looking down at the floor under his feet, his eyes wide and horrified as his hands shake. 

"What is it?" Chanyeol asks.

Kyungsoo shakes his head as if he is unsure of something. "I don't know."

Baekhyun stands, making his way over to Kyungsoo in his usual curious manner.

"Lemme see," Baekhyun says softly, pushing Kyungsoo away.

He looks down at the linoleum floor beneath his feet, and his eyes are met with a strange sight.

There are cracks in the floor surrounding Kyungsoo's foot, not too deep or too long, but cracks all the more.

"How'd you do _that?"_ Baekhyun mutters.

Kyungsoo sounds scared as he mumbles. "I don't know. I just _stood up,_ you know? And the floor....cracked."

"What?" Baekhyun hears Jongin ask as he makes his way over to the scene at hand. "What the fuck did you _do?"_

Kyungsoo looks as if he's near tears as he sits back down, his eyes panicked.

"What does this mean?" he asks softly. "How'd that happen?"

Baekhyun grins, trying to stay optimistic as he usually does. "Maybe the floor is just weak? I'm sure it wasn't _you."_

Kyungsoo looks over at him swiftly, his eyes stern. "Shut up, would you? We all know I did it. Why must you be that way _all_ of the time?"

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?" Baekhyun asks as he crosses his arms in a defensive manner.

"You act like everything is gonna be okay, even when it's not! I mean, for fucks sake, they injected that _shit_ into us. What if that's making me-"

  
"You're all too annoying," a soft voice speaks up from right behind Baekhyun.

Baekhyun jumps up in shock, turning around to face the man that has always been yelling, Junmyeon, as he does. The man has stood up and made his way over to Kyungsoo's bed, his eyes bored and his mouth pulled into a frown.

"Why do you argue _constantly?_ We should be a team, don't you think?" Junmyeon asks with a closed-mouth grin.

Kyungsoo looks taken aback as he sinks further back into his bed. "What? Why are you being... _nice?"_

  
Junmyeon scoffs. "I'm not all that _mean_ , you know. Just scared, like you _all_ should be. We have to find a way to get out of here, don't you think?"

"I don't know if we can," Baekhyun mutters as he looks down into his lap. "There's no way. 

"Well we have to find a way, you  know," Junmyeon mutters as he takes a seat on the cold floor next to Kyungsoo's bed.

"Yeah, before Sehun slits his wrists again," Jongin pipes up, his tone a misfire of shocked and disgusted.

Baekhyun turns his head towards Jongin, whose face is dead serious as he stares at a sleeping Sehun's exposed wrist.

 _"What?"_ Chanyeol asks as he jumps up from his bed, making his way across the room to see the new discovery.

"I think the reason he told us he was in the hospital was because he tries to _kill himself,"_ Jongin mutters as he runs his fingertips over Sehun's pale skin. "I mean, _look."_

Soon, everyone that's awake except for Jongdae have made their way over to the bed.

Baekhyun gasps at the sight of the jagged, lumpy scars that decorate Sehun's cream-colored wrists. Most of them aren't horizontal: dull, thin cat scratches that have scabbed over. But the two that Jongin point to are vertical and especially deep.

Baekhyun almost feels nauseous as he stares at the mutilation.

"Why would anyone do this to themselves? It's _sick,"_ Chanyeol says with disgust in his voice.

Baekhyun turns to him, his mind immediately defensive as tears threaten to spill out of his eyes. He's always been way too empathetic, even with people he barely knows. 

"Why be _mean_ about it? You don't know what he could have been _going through!"_ Baekhyun cries out.

Chanyeol's eyes widen as he puts his hands up in mock surrender. "Calm it _down!_ Can no one say what they want to without _you_ getting upset?"

Baekhyun crosses his arms with a huff as he makes his way back to his own bed.

"Leave me be," he demands, wishing he has a room to hide from everyone in like he does at home.

Sometimes, he would go in there to hide from his parents, with their endless screaming and occasional hits. He'd hide from the yelling and bruises with one simple door, a door that let him be alone but never lonely.  

But here, he can never be alone. He'll always be exposed and open to prodding eyes in a place like this.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi

Baekhyun wakes up to screaming.

His eyes burst open as he looks about frantically, his mind in absolute chaos.

His eyes land on Yixing, who is screaming as loud as he can snd thrashing wildly while Kyungsoo and Junmyeon attempt to calm him with hushed words and shushes. 

All of the rest of men (except for that strange one on his side that remains on his side) stand around, watching anxiously as the battle goes down. 

Baekhyun stares intently as Yixing  lashes out, punching and scratching as Junmyeon tries to hold his hands down.

Yixing shouts Chinese phrases loud and angrily, his blind eyes full of hate and fear.

"What's happening?" Baekhyun asks as he makes his way quickly over to the scene, watching as Junmyeon successfully pins Yixing down.

"He just woke up like this," Kyungsoo says, trying to catch his breath as he does. "I tried talking to him, but it's as if he forgot how to speak Korean."

Baekhyun shakes his head as he crosses his arms. "He's _scared."_

Chanyeol scoffs from his side. _"Obviously."_

Baekhyun jumps as he looks up at the man who had suddenly appeared at his side.

He stares down at him with those wide eyes, a small grin on his face.

"Did you have a nice nap?" Chanyeol asks as his grin widens.

Baekhyun blushes the slightest bit as he shakes his head playfully. He looks back at Yixing, who has began to cry, to avoid getting nervous.

"Yixing?" Baekhyun calls softly, carefully laying a hand on the man's arm.

Yixing jumps slightly, but remains calm overall.

"It's Baekhyun," Baekhyun says in slow, broken-down Korean. "Can you understand me?"

  
For a moment, he says nothing and shows no reaction. Then, he nods carefully.

This action silences everyone, who had been mumbling amongst each other.

 _"Baekhyun,"_ Yixing says softly. "Baekhyun?"

He turns his head toward Baekhyun, his cloudy eyes turned towards the ceiling.

Baekhyun smiles as he looks up at the rest of the men, victory pumping through his veins. 

"Are you alright?" Baekhyun asks.

Yixing nods as he sighs to himself, sitting up as he does. "I'm fine. Are the rest still here?"

He rubs tears out of his eyes as he speaks.

Baekhyun nods as he steps back from Yixing's bed. "Yeah. Why'd you attack everyone?"

Yixing shakes his head as he pats his red, welded wrists. "I forgot what was going on. Is everyone okay? Did I hurt someone? And did someone let me go?"

  
"None of _us_ let you out, but it was definitely _someone,"_ Jongin scoffs.

"And we're fine," Junmyeon says as he gestures towards the small scratches on his face. "It's no big deal." 

"Are you alright, Yixing?" a voice asks from the back of the group.

Baekhyun looks back at Sehun, who has his arms crossed as he looks over with a concerned stare.

Jongdae immediately turns around to face him, his eyes squinted as he scoffs. "Are _you?"_

Baekhyun immediately feels the anxiety start to spread through his whole body. It's sharp and sudden as the situation starts and Baekhyun realizes what can happen. 

If Jongdae starts an argument about Sehun's self harm, it will definitely tear the group even farther apart. And no one needs that.

"Jon-" Kyungsoo starts to speak as he takes a step towards Jongdae, but Junmyeon stops him with a hand to his chest, holding him back from intervening.

"What?" Sehun asks innocently, though his eyes show that he knows what's happening. He knows that his secret has been discovered.

"We saw your _cuts,"_ Jongdae says as he rolls his eyes. "Are you _crazy?"_

Baekhyun takes a step forward this time, grabbing onto Jongdae's thin arm as he does.

"Stop," Baekyun pleaded softly, the tension in the room almost unbearable.

Sehun crosses his arms tighter, looking as if he's about to cry as he does.

"What's it to _you?"_

"What's going on?" Yixing asks as he searches for a nearby body with his fingertips.

Everyone ignores him, and no one grabs his hand. 

"Well, we shouldn't have someone _mentally unstable_ in here with us. Doesn't that make sense?" Jongdae asks softly.

This catches Baekhyun off guard. How could he be so _rude_ about it?

"What the _fuck?"_ He asks, turning Jongdae around in one swift motion as he does.

  
Jongdae rolls his eyes. "Let go of me."

He turns back to Sehun with a smile on his face, as if this is _funny_. "What made you so _upset?_ Did your _mommy_ hurt your _feelings?"_

"I'm _not_ mentally unstable," Sehun says as tears fall down his sharp face. "I'm better now." 

Baekhyun feels his heart snap in half as he watches intently, his mind screaming at him to _do something._

  
"Then _why-"_

"Can you just leave him alone?" Chanyeol pipes up from Baekhyun's side. "You're being a _major_ dick."

"Didn't _you_ call him _'disgusting?'"_ Jongdae asks with raised eyebrows.

Chanyeol groans. "I was being a dick, too. But this is a _whole_ new level. Back off of him."

Jongdae grins. "You're _all_ crazy."

 _"We're_ crazy?" Baekhyun asks, stepping forward as he balls his hands into fists. "You didn't even care about Sehun before because you _knew_ you'd get your ass beat earlier! What's so different now? Besides, you've been acting weird since you woke up!"

Jongdae then does the unthinkable and suddenly shoves  Baekhyun back into Yixing's bed. He then swings a fist right into Baekhyun's face.

Baekhyun gasps as he stumbles and clutches his face. As he does, the room immediately goes up in fire.

There are angry screams and mysterious accusations, all pushing against each other at once.

"What the _fuck?"_ Kyungsoo screams as both him and Chanyeol corner Jongdae, their eyes on fire as they tilt their heads curiously.

The three start to scream back and forth, each word filled with even more hate than the last.

Sehun starts to cry as he runs back to his bed, and Jongin just stands in the same spot, looking absolutely lost.

Baekhyun stands next to Yixing's bed as Yixing screams for an explanation, for some sort of visual. 

  
All of it is much too loud and much too crazed for Baekhyun's taste. He almost wants to plug his ears to hide from all of the anger and fighting until there's one loud scream that overpowers the rest.

"Enough!"

It's immediately silent as everyone turn their heads towards Junmyeon, who stands in the middle of the room with his fists balled and his eyes full of tears. He looks crazed and angrier than he ever has, his teary eyes wide and absolutely _furious_.

"What are you _doing?"_ he screams, looking around at everyone as he sniffles. "Jongdae was right? You're _all_ crazy! Who cares if Sehun cuts? Who cares if anyone is a _'dick'_ or if someone is 'strange?' We should be a _team!"_

As he shouts, Baekhyu notices something odd.

Beneath Junmyeon's feet, a small puddle of what looks like water has started to form. Baekhyun knows it can't be pee from the simple fact that it could've have run down Junmyeon's leg.

"What is _that?"_ Jongin asks softly as he points down at the floor.

Everyone begins to stare down now, and the room somehow becomes even more silent than it was before.

"What?" Junmyeon asks as he looks down.

As soon as his eyes hit the floor and catch sight of the puddle, he jumps back.

But the water only follows, another puddle starting to form under him.

Junmyeon shouts as he hops back again, his eyes wide with terror.

But the water only follows him.

He takes one step. Then another. And another. With each one, little spots of water form on the floor.

"What the fuck is happening?" he shouts as he finally stops jumping around.

Baekhyun can't even form words. _Nothing_ makes sense. First Kyungsoo cracked the floor and now _this?_ It's or adding up.

  
"What's happening to us?" Kyungsoo mumbles as he backs away from Jongdae and Chanyeol, hanging his head as he does.

"What do you think it could be?" Jongin asks as he bites at his fingernails anxiously.

"Uh...what if-"

Kyungsoo is cut off by a strange voice, a _new_ voice, a voice that echoes from across the room.

"Hello?" the voice asks.

Baekhyun is almost too scared to turn around, but he wills himself to spin around on his heel and face himself with the voice.

It's a man with dirty blonde hair and a beautiful face. His eyes look blank, and his expression is careless. He looks carefree and comfortable.

He is the man who was tied up on his side. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope this was good :)


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi guys! i'm so sorry i haven't been updating :( school has been crazy...i am so overwhelmed! but i really hope you guys will stick with me though! this story isn't stopping until it is finished! no exceptions! love you guys :))

Minseok.

 

When I had woken up, I opened my eyes slowly and carefully, the motion feeling quite difficult despite being so minuscule.

I squinted as the bright light hit my eyes, trying my best to see anything above me.

My mouth felt dry, and my head pounded as I slowly sat up, my eyesight fuzzy as well.

I was faced with eight men, all strangers, that stared at me as if I had risen from the dead. Their faces were a mixture of horrified and surprised as I yawned lazily. 

The room is mostly white and formed like a circle, with nine beds (including mine) lining the walls. There are mirrors on the walls as well, but I do not recognize anyone that stands in them, not even the man that stares back at me when I peer into them.

I had said "hello", but no one had answered. There was and still _is_ only silence.

"Who are you?" I ask, trying to get an answer out of the men who stand frozen in place.

A short man with large features steps forward, his hands on his hips. "Who are _you?"_

This question hits me harder than it should, the words running throughout my brain aimlessly with no meaning or purpose. I try to come up with an answer, to dig through the depths of my brain for something that makes sense, but nothing comes up. 

So, I come to the conclusion that there's _no_ answer. 

"I have _no clue,"_ I mutter as I look down at the white cloth that surrounds my body. 

"Well," the man says as he takes a step closer to me, "I'm Kyungsoo. To give it to straight up, we've all been kidnapped and kept here for days. You're the last to wake up. Are you okay? Are you sure you don't remeber anything?"

I shake my head, none of his words making any sense. "I don't remember anything."

 _"What?"_ Kyungsoo asks, his voice cracking as he does.

"I don't remember _anything_. There are no answers to the questions you're asking," I say softly as this sinks in.

I know I should remember these things, but I just _can't_. I think and think, but I always draw a blank. It's as if the memories were _stolen_ from me by an unknown thief. 

A man with a soft, glowing face steps forward with an obviously forced smile on his face. "It's fine. Do you feel okay, though? Is anything else wrong?"

I shake my head as I force a smile as well, trying my best to fit in. "No. I'm okay. What all happened while I was asleep? What are all of your names?"

A tall man with bright red hair steps forward from the group, his body oddly close to the small, soft boy as he does.

"I'm Chanyeol, and this is Baekhyun," he says was he lays a large hand on the boy's shoulder.

For some reason, this interaction makes me want to cringe. The closeness is seems oddly strange and _forced_ to me. However, I keep my feelings inside, not trying to show any reactions on my face.

"Nice to meet you," I say as I try to smile a little more.

I smile and smile, trying so hard to seem like I'm fine. The happier I seem, the less questions they'll ask. 

After everyone has introduced themselves, the different stories and explanations echoing in my ears, i'm practically _exhausted_.

Just as Jongin finishes a long story about fried chicken, a sound stars to emit from walls of the room. 

It's like the sound of a bee buzzing being multiplied immensely. It bounces off of each wall, making me want to plug my ears as it does.

"What's _that?"_ Sehun asks, his eyes panicked as he does.

Kyungsoo shakes his head as he speed walks back to his bed. "I don't know, but I'm getting back into my bed. And I suggest you all do the same."

So, everyone does just that. Everyone climb into their beds, shivering nervously on top of the thin sheets as they do.

After what seems like forever, there's a large noise from right beside of my bed.

I look over and see a door that I had never noticed before. It's large, almost invisible, and starting to open slowly as I stare.

Kyungsoo quickly hushes Chanyeol and Baekhyun, who had been conversing quietly. Sehun whimpers as he cowers further into his bed.

The woman that steps inside of the room wears all white and walks with such structure and carefulness that it frightens me just a bit. Her face is blank and covered by a red sort of shield that matches well with her dark shade of lipstick.

Her high heels click against the floor as she steps into the room, and I can practically _feel_ my heart stop.

She says nothing as she stops in the middle of the room. She only looks around briefly, her eyes staying on Yixing and Baekhyun a little longer than the rest of us.

Then, she walks over to Yixing's bed and pulls out a syringe full of clear liquid from her pocket.

I _wish_ it was water.

Yixing doesn't even notice her presence until she is deathly close to him, her fingers ready to insert the needle into his forearm.

"No!" Yixing screams, putting his hand out to stop the woman as his blind eyes look about frantically. "Who are you? What's happening? Help-"

And, that's when shit hits the _fan._

Chanyeol puts his hand out, probably not even to help but to comfort his mind and tell himself that he at least _tried_ to help. But, whatever the reason, that one hand induces absolute  _chaos_.

As he raises his hand, a loud "no!" escapes his lips. And, a flash of light crosses before my eyes. I don't even realize what's happened until the woman's clothing is in flames.

She lets out a scream as she starts to press a tiny button on her shield, her eyes seeming more panicked than anyone else's in the room.

Chanyeol looks fucking _terrified,_ his hands shaking as he starts to sob.

"What was that?" Yixing asks as he sobs as well, confusion written all over his face. "I smell fire!"

Everyone ignored Yixing as the woman hops about, trying unsuccessfully to tame the flames as she does. 

I can't even begin to comprehend the situation. Everything starts to love too fast, images blurring before my eyes at the speed of light. 

In the blink of an eye, there are more women in the room. They are all strangely similar to the first woman. I wonder for a split second if they're all clones.

Just like that, the women seize Chanyeol, dragging him out of the room by his arms as he scratches at the floor. He screams for help as they pull him down a hallway.

I can hear him screaming from far away, his cries audible even when he is far from this cruel place.

After the woman that had been set ablaze exits the room in a panic, another steps in and successfully injects Yixing with whatever poison they've cooked up.

After all of this has calmed down and people have finally started to stop crying and breathing heavily, Junmyeon clears his throat.

"We need to start working. _Now."_

"On what?" Baekhyun easy angrily  as he buries his head in his hands. "We're _not_ getting out of here! Do you _see_ what just happened? What's happening to us? What are they _doing_ to us? This is not a fucking _game_ that we find a key in that unlocks the secret door!"

 _"Hey,"_ Kyungsoo says in an effort to calm everyone down. "Don't _yell."_

"But Baekhyun has a point, you know," Jongin says softly as he stares into his hands. "We're _fucked."_

As a depressing conversation between the others starts, I look down into my own hands with a discouraged heart.

I wish I knew my name. I wish I knew my story. I wish I knew all of these things like _they_ do. Maybe that would make being kidnapped and seeing a young man being dragged away as he screams for help all a little _less_ frightening.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> idk how good this was so i'm sorry if it's not that good


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi ladies <3

Baekhyun (Until Further Notice)

 

The aftermath of Chanyeol being dragged away like a insolent child from a toy store is quiet. It's as if the whole group is grieving for someone they barely know, giving a soft moment of silence for the boy with bright red hair.

"Do you think he's _dead?"_ Sehun asks after maybe an hour of dead silence.

Jongdae scoffs as he rolls over in his bed. "Most likely. He fucked up."

Baekhyun immediately gets defensive, his cheeks burning red hot.

"He didn't _know_ what he was doing. You could see it on his face," he mumbles as he picks at his fingernails.

Junmyeon sits up from his laying position with a sigh. "Do you think _any of us_ have been knowing what we were doing? What, do you think I just shot water out of my _ass_ and Kyungsoo hot a secret team of demolition men to crack the floor?"

Baekhyun wants more than ever to have a hiding place at this point. He wants to cower away forever. 

"Come on," Junmyeon continues as he stands. "There's some freaky shit going on, I think we all know that for sure. Don't call me crazy, because that'll get me mad. But, hear me out-"

  
"That kind of opening never goes well," Jongin mumbles as he drops his head into his hands.

Junmyeon grins as he waves him off. "What if they experimented on us to the point that we have some type of..... _abilities?"_

Jongdae's cackle immediately starts to echo throughout the whole room, the _"ha ha ha"_ almost intoxicating. Baekhyun wants to laugh as well just because Jongdae makes it seem so fun; however, he knows no one else will. So, he keeps his trap shut.

He almost thinks no one really will join on in the laugher until there's a tiny sound from his right.

Baekhyun turns his head to see the man with no name giggling cutely into his palm as he stares over at Jongdae.

The sight makes Baekhyun smile as Jongdae finishes his fit of laugher.

"You think we're like _superheroes_ or something? Oh, _fire and water and force?_ You're really on a _whole_ other level," Jongdae says as he wipes tears of joy from his eyes.

Junmyeon balls his hands into fists. "Look, _dickhead,_ I don't need your input."

"I still don't even know what's going _on,"_ Yixing grumbles from his bed.

Kyungsoo quickly makes his way over to the blind man, whispering in his ear once he does. As Kyungsoo speaks, a few weak gasps escape Yixing's mouth, and his unseeing eyes widen.

Junmyeon then contiunes. "It was just an _idea_. Do _you_ have anything better?"

Jongdae rolls his eyes. "No, but that seems weird." He then looks over at the man with no name, who is still grinning. "What's so funny over there?"

His cheeks flush red as he waves his hands in front of his face. "Nothing."

  
After that, people fall asleep one by one out of pure boredom, and there is only silence until the strange happenings start up once again. Only, this time, Baekhyun can't even _try_ to comprehend what's happening.

  
What happens is quick and almost unnoticeable. Anyone not paying attention wouldn't have noticed, but Baekhyun sees all.

Jongin is the only one besides Baekhyun that's still fighting to stay awake. He is sitting on his bed, just as he normally would, when there's a quick flash of light. And then, he is with a sleeping Sehun on his bed.

Jongin's eyes widen momentarily, but Baekhyun assumes that he doesn't want to make a scene. So, Jongin just shakes his head and closes his eyes softly.

It contiunes to happen again and again. Jongin moves from his bed to Sehun's bed magically as if by an invisible force.

He's smiling in amusement by the fourth time this occurs. 

"Baekhyun," he says softly, his eyes shining as he does. "Do you see?"

"How are you _doing_ that?" Baekhyun asks as he smiles softly.

Jongin shrugs. "At first it just... _happened_. Now, I think I'm controlling it. Look."

And, in the blink of an eye, he's back in his own bed.

Baekhyun suppresses a giggle. "Is that your _'superpower?'"_

Jongin giggles, his bright smile lighting up the carmel skin that surrounds it. Baekhyun smiles with him.

"I suppose," Jongin says. "It's no big deal, though. Nothing can surprise me anymore. Where's _your_ power?"

Baekhyun grins. "I don't know. Are you gonna tell all of them what's happening?"

As he says this, Baekhyun gestures to the sleeping bodies around him. 

Jongin shrugs again. "When they wake up. What do you think about all of them?"

Baekhyun knits his eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

Jongin looks into his lap. "Like...what's your opinion on them? Who do you like and dislike? Any suspicions?"

Baekhyun thinks to himself momentarily before answering. "Jongdae seems veryrude."

Jongin scoffs. "I think that's _obvious_. What about Sehun?"

"Sehun seems sweet," Baekhyun says as he smiles. "I really hope he gets help after we get out of here."

The look on Jongin's face turns extremely serious. "He doesnt need _help_. He needs someone to be there for him."

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?" Baekhyun asks.

"We talked. His family isn't supportive, and he doesn't have any friends. I think he needs someone to help him love himself a bit. No medicine can make you see the best in yourself," Jongin says softly.

Baekhyun wants to cry with those words, but he know he cant show just how weak he is out in the open. He can't show that the feelings of others affect him so greatly that it's almost _sick_. So, he changes the subject.

"What about that guy with no name?"

Jongin grins slightly. "He seems cool. Though, I can tell he thinks Jongdae is _funny_ or something. Maybe there's nothing wrong with that, though. What do you think about Chanyeol?"

Baekhyun feels his cheeks heat up immediately. "Oh he's.... _nice."_

Jongin smiles, the seriousness fading away quickly. "Is there something going on between the two of you?"

Baekhyun shakes his head. "No."

"He looks at you weird. And vise-versa. Are you _sure_ there's nothing going on?" Jongin asks as he raises his eyebrows suggestively.

Baekhyun laughs out loud. "Stop it! There's _not_. Do you think he's okay?"

"I have no idea, actually. He _kinda_ fucked up," Jongin says as he scratches his blonde hair nervously.

"Yeah...Man, your eyes are _so weird,"_ Baekhyun says, changing the uncomfortable subject yet again.

He just doesn't want to cry right now. It's not the time.

Jongin chuckles. "I kind of like them. They're not contacts, by the way. I tried to get them out, but I just touched my eye. I think they suit me, though."

"Why aren't you _scared?"_ Baekhyun asks softly.

Jongin yawns as he flashes back over to Sehun's bed. He lays his head next to the boy's, and the sight is so pure and beautiful that Baekhyun can no longer battle his tears. They start to drop out slowly from his tired eyes. 

 _"Because,"_ Jongin says as he snuggles up to Sehun, "the only thing to fear is fear itself."

"That's so _clichè,"_ Baekhyun mumbles as he rolls his eyes.

Jongin giggles as his eyelids droop. "Yeah, but it's true. The more scared you are right now, the worse off you are. I mean, look at me: I'm not that scared, so I'm fine. But are _you?"_

This question strikes Baekhyun harder than it should. He _is_ scared. He's worried. Each day is filled with unbeatable anxiety.

Is he like Jongin? Is he _really_ fine?

No. The answer is no. He's not fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i rarely get comments anymore did y'all die or does this just suck ass


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi babes!

Three days go by before anything of significance occurs.

And, this time, it involves Baekhyun _himself._

Everyone is sitting in a circle on the floor, telling stories and having the most fun that Baekhyun can remember having for a while.

Getting to know each other even better was Jongin's idea, of course. He had suggested it the day after he had discovered his "power," which he had obviously told everyone about. Though most were skeptic when it came to the idea of strengthening their bond, the idea was accepted nonetheless.

"So, I was walking down the hall, right? I was going kind of fast, as I usually do. And all of the sudden, someone _trips me."_ Kyungsoo says loudly, his eyes wide as he talks excitedly with his hands.

Everyone nods along, eager to hear what happens next. These obnoxious stories have been the source of entertainment in the hospital-like-hell. Everyone crowds together in the middle of the floor to share a little piece of their life outside of this place. It's simple yet beautiful in its own crazy way. 

Baekhyun does feel a bit uncomfortable when it comes to the man with no name, though. He is the only one that has no stories to tell, no memories to share. He has no pieces of himself to give to this group. All he can do is listen as others give their words.

Today, the little circle is arranged as it usually is. Jongdae and the man with no name sit next to eachother; they had recently hit it off and realized that they shared a lot of common interests and opinions. So, they spend time together now.

Jongin and Sehun sit together, as usual, and Yixing and Kyungsoo sit together. Kyungsoo has recently become his eyes, describing everything that happens in great detail to him everything as it comes and goes.

  
Baekhyun hates to admit that he is indeed a bit jealous of the strong friendships that everyone has created in this place. Everyone has a _someone_ , has a partner to share their their pain and worries with.

Except Junmyeon, of course. However, he seems to not need just _one person._ He socializes with everyone, giving his all to every person that needs it.

Silently, Baekhyun wishes for Chanyeol. He wishes for the tall boy with red hair that could be sitting with him, that could be _his_ someone in this circle.

But, he tells himself that Chanyeol is probably _dead,_ and Baekhyun will always be internally alone as the stories float back and forth.

"He tripped me _so hard_  that I felt the ground literally _move out_ from under me," Kyungsoo continues, his lips forming a frown as he does. "It was this guy, I don't really know him, but Baekhyun does."

Baekhyun wants to cry. Again. High school seems so far away, as if it is within an alrernate universe. His friends and teachers all seem like a long dream that he just woke up from, and it's all too much to handle.

However, Baekhyun has gotten pretty good at hiding his emotions. So, no tears spill. 

Baekhyun pastes a smile onto his face. "Who is it?"

Kyungsoo rolls his eyes. "He dyed his hair _purple_ last ye-"

At that moment, the lights suddenly flicker off.

Sehun gasps as the sound of shuffling sounds from his side of the circle. "What happened?"

"It's fine," Jongin mumbles. 

Baekhyun's heart starts to race, even though he told himself that he would _stop_ freaking out when things like this happened.

"Calm down," Junmyeon says as he sighs. "They're probably messing with us."

"Yeah," Baekhyun says as he raises his finger to point at the ceiling, "they're probably fucking with the lights."

No one pays attention to his words. The only response he gets is a gasp.

"What?" Baekhyun asks.

Then, he notices something in the corner of his eyes.

His fingertip is glowing like a tiny lightbulb, the little light shining in the darkness that the group had been plunged into.

"What the hell is going _on?"_ Jongdae whines as he throws his hands up in the air. "I've had _enough."_

Baekhyun looks over at him with squinted eyes. "Would you _hush?_ You can be _really_ annoying."

Jongdae rolls his eyes as he whispers something into Minseok's ear. The two giggle as the light on Baekhyun's fingertip starts to grow in size, from a pea to a golf ball. 

Then, in an instant, the darkness comes upon them again as the light immediately dimminshes into nothingness.

Kyungsoo immediately starts to speak to Yixing, his mumbles barely audible as the others continue to converse softly. 

"What do you think's happening?" Jongin asks from the darkness.

"Well," Junmyeon says. "Think about what I said: they _could_ be special abilities or something. _Plus,_ Jongin said he can _control_ his. Maybe the rest of us can control our... _powers,_ too."

Kyungsoo scoffs. "Why would I want to crack the floor I stand on?"

Junmyeon chuckles. "Okay, besides Kyungsoo. I could try to control the water thing, I suppose."

Baekhyun nods despite the fact that no one can see him, not knowing what else to do.

"When the lights turn back on," Junmyeon continues, "Jongin, Baekhyun, and I are going to figure this out. For now, we can all just relax. Or, we can still have story time, I guess. The darkness doesn't stop that."

Just after Sehun immediately volunteers to share a story about his "crazy" dog, the door across the room slides open.

No one dares to move as the familiar sound of the heels clicks into the room.

Then, there's the sound of something large hitting the floor and a low grunt. The heels then exit the room, the door closing softly behind it.

At that exact moment, the lights flicker back on, and the reason of the door opening is revealed.

At the edge of the doorway lies a man, curled up in a ball. His face is completely covered his his arms.

The only thing that lets Baekhyun know who it is, is that beautiful red hair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'd like to thank you all for all of your kind word so omce again! i almost considered dropping this story, but thanks to you, i'm contiuning it. i love you all.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I'm sorry that it's taking so long for me to update. School makes things so difficult, and I'm really stressed. But anyway, can we talk about exo on party people?! Chanyeol dancing to gashina and Junmyeon dancing to red flavor? I THINK YES! I love all of them so much, but watching that made me miss Yixing so much :( I hope he comes back soon, but until then, make sure you watch his new MV!

Baekhyun runs over to Chanyeol's frail, skinny body instantly, his heart overcome with relief and joy as he does. 

"Chanyeol,' he says softly as he grabs onto the boy's thin white gown, "are you okay? Can you hear me?"

The man only grunts and moans in response, his face still hidden behind his hands as the noises emit from his throat.

"Chanyeol," Baekhyun breathes softly as tears start to fall from his eyes, "it's okay." 

And, slowly, Baekhyun pries the Chanyeol's large hands from his face. He gasps at the sight that he is faced with.

Channel's face is bruised all over and practically _unrecognizable._ Both of his eyes are black and and swollen shut, the purple rings surrounding them the color of dark grape juice. His lips are busted as well, with different cuts spread all along the plump surfaces. Cuts of different sizes and depths line his face, each one jagged and seemingly fresh. There are also bruises lining his neck and cheeks: some small, and some large. They're very in color from light brown to dark purple and green, each a symbol of another painful memory that Chanyeol will never be able to forget. He looks as though he's been beaten to the brink of death; he probably was. 

"Oh my god," Baekhyun says with other sharp gasp. 

He fights the urge to just hurry and kiss all of the bruises and cuts to try and make all of the pain fade away. 

Soon, everyone else has crowded around Chanyeol as well. Baekhyun silently wishes that they'd all just go away; for some unexplainable reason he wants Chanyeol all to himself. 

"They beat the _shit_ out of him," Jongin mumbles as he brushes his fingertips against the now sleeping man's cheekbone. 

Junmyeon shrugs as he inspects Chanyeol's face. "Well, he did set one of them on _fire."_

After everyone has time to investigate Chanyeol's condition, they all work as one to lift him up and put him in his bed. However, the task doesn't turn put to be _that_ difficult; Chanyeol is _extremely_ light.

Chanyeol falls asleep as soon as his head hits the pillow, so Junmyeon takes it upon himself to pull down part of Chanyeol's gown and expose his chest to do some further inspection. Beneath the thin fabric, there are even more bruises and cuts, especially on his extremely visible ribcage.

"They starved and beat him," Junmyeon murmurs as his eye travel around Chanyeol's body. "I wonder what else they did. There has to be some other form of punishment. They wouldn't make it this easy."

\------

Chanyeol doesn't wake up again for another day, but when he finally does, Baekhyun is crouching beside of his bed in the blink of an eye. 

"Chanyeol?" he calls softly as the tips of his fingers ever-so-carefully land on the man's cheek. 

Chanyeol turns over a few times at the sound of his name, his eyes moving frantically behind closed lids as he does. His lips then part, and strange grunting noises come out from within his throat. 

"Hey, it's Baekhyun," Baekhyun says with a little more volume as he glues on one of his signature fake smiles. 

Slowly but surely, Chanyeol's wide. almond-shaped eyes start to open. And, when they are finally all of the way exposed to the bright light of the room, Baekhyun immediately jumps back out of pure fear. 

The man's eyes are blood red, like the color of a fresh stab wound or a dark rose. For some reason, this is much more terrifying than the pure black that had been replaced. Paired with his hair that is the exact same shade and his shining skin with many bruises, Chanyeol resembles a thirsty demon straight out of Baekhyun's worst nightmares. Junmyeon was right; the guards would _never_ make it as easy as a simple beat-down.

"Oh my god," Junmeyon breathes from behind Baekhyun. 

There are multiple gasps from across the room as people start to notice Chanyeol's newest eye-catcher, but no one dares to say a single thing. Not even _Jongdae_ shows that he has noticed something absurd.

Baekhyun quickly crawls back up to Chanyeol, swallowing his fright as he does. 

"Hey," he says with another fake smile, trying to seem unaffected by the new eyes. 

Channel's strange eyes land right on him. They move around Baekhyun's face, pausing on places like his lips and eyes just a half of a second longer than he does with the rest of the face. 

"Baekhyun," Chanyeol whispers. 

Baekhyun nods. "Yeah. Are you okay?" 

Baekhyun doesn't even bother asking about the eyes; Chanyeol already seems scared enough as it is. Why make things worse by making him feel outlandish?

Chanyeol shakes his head as he closes his eyes momentarily. "It _hurts."_

Baekhyun feels his heart shatter with this simple statement. He has never been able to stand seeing people in any type of pain, but this is ten times worse than any old someone. This is _his_ someone.

"I know it does," Baekhyun mutters, "but you'll be okay. You're safe now." 

Chanyeol starts to shake his head frantically as a small mumble escapes his lips. "No. No, don't think that. We're not safe here, not _anywhere._ They'll _kill you_ if you think-" 

Baekhyun presses a skinny, feminine-looking finger to the fretful boy's chapped lips as he internally becomes increasingly anxious. "Shh, I'm sorry I said that. I won't ever say that again. We're not safe, you're right." 

Chanyeol nods as he lets out a deep breath and shuts his eyes again.

"Sorry to uh...interrupt, but I just realized something," Jongin pipes up from across the room.

Baekhyun turns his head to look over at the man, who has wide eyes and messy hair. 

"You said that they starved Chanyeol, right?" he asks as he looks over at Junmyeon. 

Junmyeon nods as he scratches his head. 

"Guys... _none_ of us have eaten or drank anything since we've been here. It's not just _him."_

Baekhyun swears that his brain explodes in this moment. He hadn't even thought of that because...well, he hadn't felt any type of need the whole time. Plus, he'd been too focused on fear and the beautiful man with red hair to think about eating enough. 

"Have any of you felt hungry or thirsty? Have you felt as though you need anything?" Jongen asks, practically voicing Baekhyun's thoughts as his eyes widen even more. 

"I wonder..," Jongin continues as he stands up from his bed and walks over to the nearest mirror. 

He pulls down his gown to reveal his chest, which looks just as skinny and malnourished as Chanyeol's. Everyone then follows suit, pulling down their gowns and revealing their chests. Kyungsoo even helps Yixing up so that everyone can see his chest as well. They all end up looking as though they haven't eaten in days, but somehow don't feel a thing. 

"What in the _ever-living-FUCK?"_ Jongdae screams as he pulls at his straight, black hair. "I've _had it._ What did they _do_ to us?"

Junmyeon shakes his head. "I don't know, but that stuff they put into out bloodstream probably made it to where we don't feel our needs or something."

"So, what? We just die of starvation without even _realizing?"_ Kyungsoo asks with a scoff as he runs a hand through his straight hair and rolls his eyes. 

"I suppose so," Junmyeon whispers as the room falls silent. 

After this new piece of information sinks in, everyone is in shock. The separate pairs of friends stay together on different beds and discuss various theories in hushed voices. Baekhyun stays beside of Chanyeol. perched on the edge of his bed as he updates him on new things like story time and "powers."

"I like the idea of stories," Chanyeol says with a grin, completely ignoring the part about special abilities.

"Me too," Baekhyun says as he brushes a piece of hair behind one of Chanyeol's large ears. 

"Do you think they actually made it to where we can't feel anything?" Chanyeol whispers as his eyes scan Baekhyun's face. 

Baekhyun shrugs, trying not to scare the injured man by acting as worried as he is. "Maybe, but I think we have bigger things to worry about."

Chanyeol knits his brows in confusion. "What's more important than _dying?"_

Baekhyun chuckles. "Dying in a more painful way."

Chanyeol smiles and nods as he closes his eyes again. "By the way, why haven't you asked me about anything that happened out there?" 

Baekhyun shrugs as he wipes another hair out of Chanyeol's face and smiles to himself as he touches a patch of skin that is unscathed. The tan skin here is soft and unbelievably smooth, just as it should be. 

"I didn't think that I needed to bring it up," Baekhyun says honestly. 

As nosy as he is, he knew that Chanyeol wouldn't want to discuss whatever horrors he had faced during his time away.

"It's okay. Maybe later we can talk about it," Chanyeol mussitates as his eyelids start to droop. 

At that very moment, Sehun screams from across the room as Kyungsoo, Jongin, and the man with no name start to cackle. Baekhyun turns his head to look at the new commotion.

"Do it again!" Kyungsoo says with shiny eyes and a wide smile. 

Sehun shakes his head as he backs into Jongin's chest. His eyes seem scared, while the others are joyful.

"What happened?' Baekhyun asks, his voice becoming the loudest that it has been for days as he carefully leaves Chanyeol's side. 

Jongin starts to giggle cutely. "Do it again, Sehun. Show him!" 

Baekhyun raises his eyebrows expectantly as Sehun steps away from Jongin's muscular arms. 

Sehun shakes his head warily as he turns to face the bed. The boy takes a deep breath and then lets it out. The action is subtle and nothing special, but the effect it has is the exact opposite.

With one puff of air, the sheets and pillows on the bed are blown off of the mattress and onto the floor as if by fast winds in a strong storm. 

Jongdae cackles as a tiny smile creeps onto Baekhyun's lips. 

"You have the most useless ability yet," Jongdae yells as he wipes tears of laughter from his eyes. 

Shun starts to giggle as well as he lets out another puff of air, causing Jongdae's hair to fly back messily.

As everyone is laughing and acting as if these things are completely normal, Baekhyun looks over at Chanyeol, who is now wide awake and smiling to himself as he watches eagerly. His red eyes glow with happiness, their dark hue somehow so bright in this moment. 

"Aren't they just the best?' Baekhyun asks sarcastically as he makes his way back to the bruised boy in the bed. 

Chanyeol shrugs as he grabs onto Baekhyun's small hand with his large one. The gesture is small, but it sets Baekhyun's skin on fire. The rough palms of Chanyeol's hands are like pits of lava, making of Baekhyun's cheeks heat up immediately. 

"Sure, they're great," Chanyeol says with a grin, "but not better than you, Baekhyun."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys liked this update! I'll try and update again asap. Leave me a comment to tell me what you think :)


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long! I don't have wifi a lot now, so updates will be slower. I will try my hardest though. I love y'all so much.

Baekhyun has finally come to the conclusion that day and night somehow do not exist anymore.

 

He has decided that, in this place, there isn’t even _time._ Sure, the lights turn off and on, and those are the passing of “days,” but it has begun to feel strange and as if it means absolutely nothing.

 

There is nothingness and only nothingness to occupy the passing of the seconds in the circular prison. This fact alone is starting to eat Baekhyun alive.

 

 After Chanyeol returned and the initial excitement of having his _“someone”_ back wore off, Baekhyun has since felt like a dead leaf struggling to stay attached to a branch.

 

Everything flashes by, meaningless and empty. Each story time is bland, and every word that is spoke is muffled and unimportant.

 

Baekhyun sits on his bed, his head resting in his hands as he watches Junmyeon compare the size of his hands to Sehuns’s. The tiny man’s palms resemble a child’s when placed against the Sehun’s significantly large hands. Sehun starts to giggle and Jongin points and laughs at the now ashamed Junmyeon.

 

A small part of Baekhyun wishes that he could grin or chuckle along with them, that he could _feel_ something. But, ever since Chanyeol got back, feeling anything seems _impossible_ for Baekhyun.

 

There is no more loneliness. Baekhyun no longer craves someone since the man with messy red hair is closer than ever. However, there also seems to be no more _desire._ Sure, Baekhyun is ever-so-desperate to press kisses on Chanyeol’s lips and lay with him as time passes and things change, but the idea of that just seems so far away at this point. After the day Chanyeol woke up and Baekhyun got to speak with him, he’s felt _strange._ It’s an unexplainable feeling of distance, but it’s the only feeling he seems to have left.

 

There is no more fear; Baekhyun got over being scared of this situation a _long_ time ago. There is no excitement or anxiety. There is no joy or amusement. For some reason, his heart feels completely dried out.

 

However, this seems to be the exact _opposite_ for his fellow prison-mates.

 

Baekhyun had long ago realized that Jongdae and the man with no name were made to find one another. There is just no other explanation. The two seem connected in a far more spiritual way than just their fingers, which are constantly entwined beneath blankets or in their laps when they think that no one is watching. They seem as though they are each other’s missing puzzle piece, which somehow finds a way to warm Baekhyun’s heart at times.

 

The man with no name helps Jongdae’s temper and has somehow made him a more amicable being. He balances out Jongdae’s violent nature with the soft atmosphere that he carries with him wherever he may roam. His sweet smile cools down every bit of anger and hatred. And, while he does this, Jongdae brings out the cheerfulness in the man with no name. He makes him laugh and scream with joy, causing his eyes to light up beautifully.

 

But, the best thing and most important that has come out of the pair’s being together is the fact that Jongdae has somehow made the man with no name remember the smallest things. They may be quite miniscule, like his favorite restaurant or the park he played at as a child, but they are something nonetheless. The more Jongdae talks to him, asking question after question, the more he remembers. It’s a beautiful phenomenon, one that is nearly unexplainable but unbelievably glorious at the same time.

 

The two men swirl together magnificently like blue and red, creating the most gorgeous shade of violet in the entire universe.

 

Sehun and Jongin are a match made in heaven, as well. The two seem as though they can communicate without words, as though they share a conscience. Jongin is the only one that has gotten Sehun to really speak out about his mental illness and struggles, about his past and what he believes his future will hold, and Sehun is the only one that makes Jongin smile as wide as he possibly can and laugh the hardest he ever has. Baekhyun finds their relationship unique due to the fact that the two are complete opposites yet somehow the _exact_ same at the same time.

 

Sehun is a complete introvert, very insecure and unbelievably shy, while Jongin is an outgoing social butterfly. Sehun enjoys animals, especially his treasured dog that he speaks about missing _constantly,_ while Jongin is allergic to most house pets. Jongin is loud and bright, while Sehun is soft and gentle. They are like the moon and the sun; true opposites that are somehow still _so_ similar and closely related.

 

Kyungsoo and Yixing have a relationship that is not romantic, but brotherly. However, they are just as special and magnificent as every other pair. Kyungsoo truly has become Yixing’s eyes, describing everything as it happens wonderfully like a well-trained novelist. He describes colors down to the tiniest details, every single movement that occurs in the room, and even different faces and their expressions. He sometimes playfully describes Baekhyun as an insidious demon dressed as an angel with pretty hands and a bright smile. This used to make Baekhyun cackle every time Kyungsoo said it.

 

Yixing loves Kyungsoo not only for being so helpful, but also for his ability to listen and understand very well. Yixing shares stories of his grandparents and mother, who he treasures more than anyone, and of his life in China. Kyungsoo has said that he finds Yixing interesting, which makes them go well together; Yixing likes to talk about himself, and Kyungsoo finds Yixing’s life quite amazing. The two also share a love for singing as well and sometimes sing songs together at story time, the pair acting like a duet giving an exclusive concert for their biggest fans.

 

Junmyeon has no _single_ person to invest himself in; he gives everyone his heart. He makes his rounds, talking to everyone about their day and their life. He checks on Sehun, making sure that his mental state is in order as he congratulates him on the slight fading of the thick scars on his pale arms. He takes “dance lessons” with Jongin, who actually turned out to be an _amazing_ dancer. Junmyeon jokes around with Jongdae, who says he can’t stand the man’s jokes but still ends up laughing every time, and he helps Yixing and Kyungsoo come up with new songs to sing every story time. He helps Chanyeol’s wounds heal, catering to his every need and treating him like the princess that he is. He spends time with the man with no name, playing intense games of rock paper scissors with him and focusing so hard that you’d think they bet money on the winner. Maybe they did.

 

Junmyeon even finds time to talk to Baekhyun and ask him how he is, for he can tell that Baekhyun has become slightly detached from the rest of the group. Baekhyun finds it beautiful that the man that was once the most distant from the group, overcome by fear and anxiety, is now the unofficial leader of them all.

 

There is love in this place, that is certain. These men have made a home in the place farthest away from home in the world. There is now more joy than fear and more laughter than tears. Even Baekhyun, who is starting to lose his place, sees this and somehow feels a sense of safety. He may not be home, but he’s never felt more love in one place before in his whole life.

 

As Sehun starts to giggle some more as he now compares his _height_ to Junmyeon’s, Baekhyun feels a tap on his shoulder.

 

He rips his eyes away from the height comparison and looks over at the man with no name, who is smiling at him like a small child.

 

“Hey,” he says with a wave.

 

Baekhyun waves back lazily as the man with no name takes it upon himself to take a seat on the edge of Baekhyun’s bed. Baekhyun scoots over instinctively to give the small man room.

 

“I thought you could use a friend,” the man continues with a sigh as he stares over at the commotion across the room.

 

Baekhyun shrugs as he looks over as well and observes Sehun picking Junmyeon up to make him taller as Junmyeon screams for help.

 

“Where’s Jongdae?” Baekhyun asks over the noise, not caring about how rude it may sound.

 

The man with no name shrugs. “He’s asleep. Besides, I don’t _always_ have to be with him. I can talk to other people if I want.”

 

Baekhyun feels a smile rise to his lips for the first time in a little while. “Well then. I’m _sorry.”_

 

The man with no name waves him off as he grins. “It’s cool. Just think, that’d be like me asking, ‘Where’s _Chanyeol?’_ ”

 

Baekhyun smiles a little wider and ignores the sharp pain in his heart as the man giggles. “I haven’t even spoken to him in a few days. How is he?”

 

The man with no name points over at Chanyeol, who is now playing charades with Junmyeon, Sehun, and Jongin. “I’d say he’s just _fine.”_

 

Baekhyun nods as he watches the man that he is still somehow so infatuated with smile widely as he tries in vain to guess whatever it is that Sehun is trying to act out. His bright red eyes, which become less and less startling each day, glow with happiness as he spends time with the people that make his heart fill with warmth.

 

“I know how you feel,” the man with no name mutters from Baekhyun’s side.

 

Baekhyun looks over at the man, who is gazing at Chanyeol as well.

 

“What?” Baekhyun asks as he scrunches his eyebrows.

 

The man looks over at him, and something has shifted. In just those few seconds, his sharp eyes have softened, and his face somehow seems less joyful. The excitement that always seems to occupy the man’s every movement and word has dripped away and has been replaced by a more serious demeanor.

 

“Love is so _weird,_ don’t you think?” the man says, ignoring Baekhyun’s curiosty as he looks over at Chanyeol’s amused face once more.

 

Baekhyun nods and gives a soft “yeah,” not knowing where exactly the man is trying to go with this.

 

“It somehow finds a way to eat you alive but heal you at the same time. I’ve always _hated_ it.”

 

He pauses before continuing, turning back at Baekhyun and giving him a serious glare as he does.

 

 “But, he makes me like it. He makes me think that, no matter how much the way he makes me feel weakens me and absolutely _destroys_ me, it will all be worth it in the end. He makes things easier. He makes things _better._ No matter what, he always ends up making my life a happier one even when he screws up or makes me angry. And, even when I’m laying right next to him and breathing into his hair, I still miss him. I want to be with him all of the time, even right now. I was lying when I said I didn’t always have to be next to him; I do. He’s like a magnet.”

 

The man looks away again briefly as he smiles. Baekhyun feels tears start to form in his eyes and his throat start to tighten as the words that spill from the man’s mouth grip onto his ever-so-weak heart.

 

“The point that I’m trying to make is that,” the man says with a sigh as he runs a hand through his soft-looking hair, “I _know_ how you feel about Chanyeol. And, I know you want to be next to him right now. I know you wish you could hold his hand and make him laugh, but you feel too _depressed_ to go back over there. He misses you too, you know. He thinks you’re angry with him. I mean, you went from sucking up to him and petting him like a _puppy_ to not speaking to him for _days_ for _no_ apparent reason.”

 

Baekhyun feels tears fall down his face, dripping down his nose and cheeks and then collecting in the crease of his lips.

 

“Everyone can tell that you’ve been weird since he got back and things have been changing. We don’t exactly know _why_ you’re like this, but we know nonetheless. So, I want you to get it together You can do it. You seem so drained and worn down, and I know that’s only because you want him,” the man says as he lays a hand on Baekhyun’s shoulder. “But you’re just too _weak_ to go over there and tell him that you’re sorry for being a selfish little _bitch_ for the last couple of days.”

 

Baekhyun shakes his head as he sobs softly, trying his hardest not to draw too much attention to himself.

 

“I’ve just _lost it._ I’m going _crazy._ It’s like my whole mindset just shifted in mere seconds. I don’t know what to do. I feel… _lost,”_ Baekhyun mumbles as he sniffles and wipes tears from his eyes.

 

“Look,” the man says as he points over at Chanyeol again, who is still distracted by the game at hand. “He’s _so happy._ Go over there and make him even _happier._ Stop sucking up to your depressed self and do something worth _my_ time.”

 

Baekhyun shakes his head as he continues to cry. He wishes that he could’ve stayed numb and alone, cold and full of sorrow. Feeling again is _way_ too much work.

 

 _“Yes,”_ the man insists, pulling Baekhyun to his feet as he stands as well. “I’m going back over to Jongdae; I think he’s going to wake up soon, and I miss him. You should go and see Chanyeol; I think their game is over now.”

 

Baekhyun looks over through his tear-filled eyes to see that the room has settled down, and Chanyeol is now sitting by himself and staring up at the ceiling.

 

Baekhyun is _beyond_ tempted to just sit back down again and forget about everything the man said, but he knows that he must do the right thing. And, the right thing is to get over himself and be more of a man than he has ever had to be in his entire life.

 

He takes small footsteps over to Chanyeol, who looks over immediately as Baekhyun approaches him.

 

“Are you okay?” Chanyeol asks immediately as he props himself up on his elbows.

 

Baekhyun grins as he nods and squats down beside of the most beautiful man he has ever laid eyes on and wipes pitiful tears from his eyes. Without a second thought, he allows his hand to barely caress the man’s cheek. His skin lights on fire with the touch that he has been craving for much longer than he had realized.

 

Chanyeol smiles as he leans his face into Baekhyun’s hand. “What took you so long to come back? I thought you were mad. For what reason? I have no clue.”

 

Chanyeol chuckles, and Baekhyun shakes his head as he rushes to touch more of Chanyeol’s soft skin. He runs his fingertips over the man’s forehead, nose, and lips, pausing on each area to let it all sink in.

 

How did things change so _quickly?_

 

“Don’t worry,” Baekhyun mutters. “I’m not mad. I’m just sorry. That’s all you need to know.”

 

Chanyeol grins, seeming eager to have Baekhyun back to speaking to him once more. “That’s good enough for me. By the way, do my eyes not _scare you?”_

 

Baekhyun smiles and shakes his head frantically. “Not anymore.”

 

“I noticed them yesterday when Junmyeon helped me walk. I think they’re kinda _creepy,”_ he admits as he widens his eyes playfully.

 

Baekhyun giggles as he watches the man’s chest rise and fall with each precious breath he takes. He internally relishes at how beautifully _normal_ this situation seems.

 

“Chanyeol, can I say something?”

 

Chanyeol nods as he puts his hand on Baekhyun’s and lazily plays with the slender fingers.

 

“The guy with no name told me what love feels like to me,” Baekhyun says shyly as he leans in, all of his bravery collecting at once to form a burst of sudden confidence and courage.

 

 Chanyeol hums in acknowledgement as he grins.

 

Baekhyun leans in closer to Chanyeol, close enough to see the little gold flecks in the pits of lava that are his eyes.

 

“I’m really, _really_ sorry, but I think I love you,” Baekhyun says with a grin as he leans in a little closer.

 

Chanyeol chuckles. “Oh, you _think_ so?”

 

Baekhyun nods as he leans in so close that their noses touch.

 

 _“Why_ do you think so? I mean, we _barely know eachother,” Chanyeol mumbles as he breathes heavily onto Baekhyun’s lips._

 

 _“Because,”_ Baekhyun says as he shuts his eyes momentarily before opening them again to stare right into Chanyeol’s soul, into the pits of his whole being, “I miss you even when you’re right next to me.”

 

And, just like that, Baekhyun truly does _feel_ again. Chanyeol’s lips are soft and plump, tasting like honey and summertime as they connect with Baekhyun’s own lips. The kiss is short and brief, but completely _electrifying_ nonetheless. Baekhyun feels as though he could do _anything_ in this moment, with his hands cradling his love’s fragile face. He feels invincible and absolutely free-spirited. That is, until he hears a burst of laughter erupt from behind him.

 

Baekhyun immediately pulls away, his cheeks immediately feeling as though they are on fire as he looks around. Every single man in the room, even _Yixing,_ are staring at Baekhyun and Chanyeol.

 

“Having _fun?”_ Jongin asks as he laughs into Sehun’s shoulder.

 

Baekhyun smiles sheepishly. “Shut up.”

 

“Oh, by the way Baekhyun,” Junmyeon yells as he laughs like there’s no tomorrow, “you’re a little _lit up_ there.”

 

Baekhyun slowly looks down and notices that his hands are glowing like lightbulbs from all of the excitement. He immediately hides them behind his back, as if that will help the situation in any way at all.

 

“You’re all so _mean,”_ Chanyeol whines as he grabs onto one of Baekhyun’s glowing palms.

 

Baekhyun tries to pull away, overcome with embarrassment as everyone stares at him, but Chanyeol holds on tight.

 

“You let Jongdae and that guy that looks like the Asian version of the Grinch cuddle and baby each other all the time with _no_ questions asked, so why can’t you leave _us_ alone?” Chanyeol asks as he laughs at himself.

 

 _“Hey!”_ the man with no name calls as he pouts playfully in Jongdae’s arms. “For _your_ information, I would prefer to either be called ‘weasel’ or just plain old _‘ugly’_ as an insult. Don’t bring Christmas villains into this.”

 

This gets a laugh out of everyone, including Baekhyun, who has begun to hold onto Chanyeol’s hand as well.

 

“I’m surprised that you didn’t light _him_ on fire as well, Chanyeol!” Kyungsoo shouts as he laughs into the sheets of Yixing’s bed.

 

“Hey, it’s good to have you back Baekhyun,” Sehun says as he smiles into his hands to try to keep from laughing.

 

Baekhyun rolls his eyes playfully as Chanyeol starts to yell things at Kyungsoo.

 

Everyone laughs and screams at each other as the time passes and the jokes and playful insults fly back and forth across the room, and for _once,_ the circular room _truly_ does not feel like a prison to Baekhyun.

 

It does not feel like nine men were captured and brought here against their will to be tested on and starved to death. Instead, it feels like a gathering of a group of high school buddies on Saturday evening to play videogames and horse around like normal people. It feels like home, warmth and pure _love_. It feels beautiful in all of the right ways.

 

 For once, these people are no longer _“prison-mates”_ or just people that Baekhyun is trying to survive with. For once, these are his closest friends and his most treasured relatives. These people are his heart and the sole reason that he is even able to make it through each painful moment of his life. They are hope and the bright happiness on this Earth that balances the hate and the violence that try to fight it.

 

They are the _light._

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hoped you liked this chapter! It was a little longer than normal, so I hope that's a treat for you all. Leave me a comment to let me know what you think :) I put some soft stuff in here to make up for what's to come... ;)


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another update because i love you guys. Thank you for the unconditional support.

Baekhyun wakes up to a large arm draped over him and screaming echoing in his ears.

 

He jerks his head up from the pillow of Chanyeol’s bed and looks around the room frantically as he grips onto Chanyeol’s hand wihout even thinking about it.

 

Yixing is sitting up in his bed, crying and screaming as he smiles gloriously and tugs at Kyungsoo’s shirt eagerly like a little boy with his father.

 

“What’s wrong?” Baekhyun asks as he hears the shuffling of the others waking as well.

 

Yixing looks over at him, and for the first time ever, his eyes are looking directly into Baekhyun’s and not slightly beyond him or down at his chest. They’re clear and bright, the dullness and lack of focus that they usually cary completely drained.

 

 _“Baekhyun?”_ Yixing asks with a heart-warming smile.

 

Baekhyun nods slowly. _“Yeah._ What’s _wrong_ with you?”

 

Yixing shakes his head as he smiles even wider and grabs onto Kyungsoo, who is sitting on Yixing’s bed looking _beyond_ shocked.

 

“It’s not what’s _wrong,_ Baekhyun! It’s what’s _right!_ I can _see again!”_

Baekhyun’s mind doesn’t quite register what Yixing has told him as he watches the man’s eyes eat up all of the glorious sights before him.

 

“Kyungsoo,” he breathes as a smile dances on his lips, “everything is just as you described it but _better. Thank you.”_

He reaches out to touch Kyungsoo, but his hand somehow misses. He only pats air, as if he thought his best friend was further to the right, and a small frown forms on his face. However, he doesn’t let this miniscule mistake distract him for long, and his eyes wonder over to Junmyeon, who is sitting up and rubbing his slightly puffy eyes in the most _adorable_ way possible.

 

 _“Sehun?”_ Yixing asks as a puzzled expression crosses over his face.

 

Junmyeon, who obviously didn’t hear of the big announcement, raises his eyebrows at Yixing. “Sehun is over _there.”_

 

Junmyeon points to Sehun, who is giggling cutely with Jongin as Yixing continues to stare at Junmyeon.

 

“Wait… _Junmyeon?_ You’re not at _all_ how I imagined you,” Yixing mumbles as he rubs the back of neck and chuckles.

 

Junmyeon, who still _somehow_ hasn’t caught light of the situation, scoffs at Yixing. “Dude, I _just_ woke up. What are you talking about?”

 

“You’re really handsome, though,” Yixing comments, completely ignoring Junmyeon’s curiosity as he turns to Sehun.

 

 _“Sehun!_ You look more masculine than I would have thought, considering how much you cry,” Yixing says with a playful grin as Sehun blushes.

 

“How can you suddenly _see?_ I thought people who were blind from birth couldn’t ever see again since their brain like…never learned how to see or whatever, _”_ Jongin mumbles as he runs a hand through his messy hair.

 

Yixing turns to him. _“Jongin!_ It’s nice to see you. Also, I went blind when I was seven. I remember little things, of course, like my cat or the face of my grandmother and grandfather, who I spent the most time with. But everything else is really blurry. Maybe seeing again is _my_ power.”

 

So many words are flying from Yixing’s mouth at once, so many thoughts and comments on the new things that he can finally experience like every other person spewing from his lips at rapid speed. Baekhyun finds it a bit difficult to keep up with the sudden excitement, but doesn’t blame Yixing one bit for being so hyper; his world of blackness and mystery has finally been lit up with brilliant color once more.

 

Junmyeon gasps as he realizes what he’s been missing. “Wait. He can _see?”_

Everyone ignores the flabbergasted man as Yixing goes through almost each person, giving them all a few comments and a smile before finally pausing at Kyungsoo.

 

 _“Kyungsoo_ , you’re just how I imagined you. Well, not _exactly,_ but you give off the same type of vibe.”

 

Kyungsoo smiles at him, but Baekhyun can tell that it is nowhere _near_ genuine. The small grin is a bit pained and artificial, as though it is hiding another emotion besides joy in the midst of all of this action. However, Baekhyun just turns away and finds it in himself to forget about Kyungsoo; he’s probably just too shocked to react to Yixing’s happiness properly.

 

Yixing moves over to the mirror next to his bed and raises a hand carefully to touch his cheek. He runs a hand over the planes of his face, feeling the skin under his fingertips and examining the complete stranger before him.

 

“I thought it was strange seeing _your_ faces for the first time, but seeing my _own_ is even _worse_. It’s like I don’t even know this person even though it’s… _me,’_ he mumbles as he pulls at his black hair and touches his nose. “This _obviously_ isn’t what I looked like last time I saw myself.”

 

Yixing sighs as he plops back onto his bed and shuts his eyes softly, letting his world darken once more.

 

“I need a break already,” he murmurs, his words barely audible as he covers his already closed eyes with the palms of his hands. “This is too much.”

 

“Why would they just give him _sight_ as a power?” Jongdae asks as he lets out an obnoxious yawn.

 

“I don’t think that’s all it is,” Junmyeon mutters, his intelligent brain kicking into gear as he starts to ponder the situation at hand. “There has to be _more.”_

 

“I don’t really care that much,” Yixing chimes in as he slowly peels open his eyes again and squints down at his hands. “I'm excited. I keep wondering my house looks like now or my family. But, at the same time, there’s a part of me that actually  _dislikes_ this.”

 

Baekhyun feels immediately confusion; why would a blind man hate to see again?

 

“Why would you _not like_ seeing again?” Junmyeon asks as he frowns and crosses his arms.

 

“I _mean,”_ Yixing says as he sighs and smiles again, “I _love_ it. The color is back, just like I remembered it and saw in my dreams. But, everything seems so far away or out of place. My perception of distance seems strange, and I already have a _killer_ headache. It’s also _really_ overwhelming; I would have rather had it restored little by little. Having everything just thrown at me all at once is _way_ too much, even if it _is_ amazing. I feel the urge to keep _touching_ everything like I can’t see it, too. My brain is still stuck in like… _blind mode.”_

Yixing then takes another long glance around the room and sighs with a sad smile. “Nevertheless, this is nice. I can’t wait until I can see the world again or watch a movie like a regular person.”

 

Baekhyun feels near tears as he watches Yixing’s mind open up a door into the world old beauty that he has been missing for more than a _decade._ No matter how difficult it has turned out to be, the man is still unconditionally grateful. For the first time in his life, Baekhyun feels _true_ happiness for another human being as the blind becomes the seeing once more.

 

Baekhyun glances over at Chanyeol, who seems just as amazed as Baekhyun is.

 

“Isn’t it _wonderful?”_ Baekhyun whispers under his breath as he grips Chanyeol’s hand beneath the blanket they share. “Seeing him be so taken aback by every little thing is so _cool.”_

 

Chanyeol nods as he smiles at Yixing, who is currently still complaining about how badly his head is pounding _._ “It really is. Maybe this is the start of good things to come.”

 

Baekhyun nods, even though he knows that Chanyeol’s optimism is worthless. However, he has found that, the more you lie to yourself and think that you’re going to be okay, the easier it gets to move forward each day.

 

 

 

 

That evening at story time, Yixing’s attitude about sight seems to have shifted even more. He occasionally does strange things, like closing his eyes and breaking off his connection to newfound sight or feeling the things around the room as he moves or just feeling faces instead of just looking at them. He’s startled each time someone moves too quickly or when many things are happening at once. Baekhyun finds him frowning more than smiling by the time two stories are over, but he doesn’t bother Yixing about it; perhaps he’s just having a little too much trouble adjusting.

 

The group is sharing different stories of high school and romance, laughing at themselves for how stupid and miniscule their old worries were and how important they had seemed back then.

 

That high school life seems so far away to Baekhyun. The life full of endless classes and staring up at the clock waiting for the days to end seems like a whole other life in a distant universe. The life full of girls swooning over one of the most handsome boys in school (who just so happened to be one of the _gayest,_ as well) and friends using him for his status all just feels like a dream. Baekhyun is slowly starting to lose his grip on his old life, of the one that he stumbled through blindly before ending up here. He doesn’t even remember the old him, the one that Kyungsoo refers to as “that boy that seemed to sparkle like a _diamond_ in the front of the classroom.” He doesn’t remember how he once was or how he used to feel when things were all a routine and all completely bland. It all just doesn’t seem _real._

 

As Junmyeon tells the eventful story of his first date, Baekhyun wonders if, perhaps, these people and this room are far more precious than the life he had once lived. Sure, he won’t deny the fact that would give damn near _anything_ to get out of this place, but what would it be for? What would be the real reason for leaving this place: to go back to his life or just to rid himself of the constant worry that tends to eat at his insides late into the night? If he left this circular prison, Baekhyun would lose himself again in an artificial bubble made of silver and filled with nice clothes and fake smiles. He would lose the depth that he has found within his soul and the love that has been created in this awful place. He would lose everything, but for _what?_

 

A part of him knows that his own thoughts are completely crazy and that getting out of here truly would be like entering the gates of heaven. However, another small part of him knows that, if he ever does see the light of day again, he will sometimes miss the good parts of being locked up in here.

 

 He will miss Chanyeol’s crinkly eye smile and Jongdae’s infectious laughter. He’d miss Junmyeon’s honey-like voice and the way Jongin’s caramel skin glows like a bar of gold. He’d miss the way man with no name’s smile shows more gums than of teeth and how much Sehun loves to pout like a baby when he doesn’t get his way. He’ll miss Yixing’s soft way of speaking and Kyungsoo’s deep, beautiful voice. Everything good will fade away, and to trade all of those treasures for an unenjoyable life seems strange to Baekhyun.

 

Baekhyun shakes these silly thoughts away as Junmyeon finishes his tale and everyone starts to laugh hysterically; something in the story must have been _quite_ hilarious.

 

Kyungsoo is the only one who now seems not to be enjoying themselves, staring into his lap blankly as he smiles from time to time, but no one brings it up. At the moment, the feeling of absolute joy that fills the room is worth _much_ more than halting everything to cater to a case of brief sadness.

 

It’s when Yixing shakily stands to tell his first story with new-found sight that the door of the room burst open abruptly.

 

There’s a collective gasp from everyone in the room as two of the identical women that they had all seen before step inside. They halt at the doorway, watching as the nine men stare up at them in fear.

 

Baekhyun feels frozen on the cold ground that he sits on as one of the women raises up a thin clipboard that rests within her hand. She glances at it for a moment before handing it to her partner and beginning to walk across the room towards the group of men on the floor.

 

Baekhyun can’t will himself move even a mere _inch_ as she approaches a still-standing Yixing and holds her hand out. Fear courses through his veins as his eyes follow each movement that she makes.

 

“Come,” she says in a bland yet powerful voice.

 

Yixing just gapes up at her, too dumbfounded to do anything but stare.

 

After a few seconds of waiting, the woman withdraws her hand and looks over at her partner who nods and starts to walk over as well. In just a few quick movements, they have Yixing locked in a grip between them and are dragging him from the room as he finally starts to scream for help as his eyes move about frantically.

 

No one dares to move until the door has shut and Yixing’s desperate cries can no longer be heard from the outside, their utterly terrified hearts not allowing their limbs to reach out and help the struggling man as he is stolen from them.

 

“Oh my _god,”_ Sehun breathes, his voice thick with tears and barely audible as he crawls into his bed and buries his face into his pillows. “I can’t _take_ this anymore.”

 

 _“Yixing_ didn’t even _do_ anything,” Jongin grumbles angrily as he flashes a quick glare towards Chanyeol and joins Sehun in his bed.

 

Baekhyun hears them exchange hushed words, but cannot comprehend what it is that they’re discussing. He then feels a warm hand on his shoulder and turns around to face Chanyeol, whose eyes seem more frightened than even _Yixing’s_ were.

 

“What if they do to him what they did to _me?”_ He asks, his voice panicked as he tightens his grip on Baekhyun.

 

Baekhyun shakes his head as he smiles at his favorite person in the world and tries to stay as calm as possible. “I’m sure they won’t. Maybe they just took him because he can see now.”

 

From beside of Baekhyun, Kyungsoo starts to sob even harder than Sehun had as he stumbles over to Yixing’s bed and takes a seat.

 

“Kyungsoo? You alright?” Junmyeon questions as he grimaces.

 

Kyungsoo cries into a pillow as he shakes his head and gives a muffled response. “No. They took _him.”_

 

The emphasis he puts on “him” makes Baekhyun sick to his stomach. His heart cries put in pain from seeing the man so distraught. That is Kyungsoo’s _someone,_ and now, he is gone. Baekhyun knows exactly how that feels.  
  


From then on, people stay to themselves. Even the couples are barely speaking as the lights flicker off and the time for rest comes. Baekhyun stares up at the ceiling above him wondering what Yixing is doing at this exact moment. Maybe he’s sleeping, too. Or, maybe, he’s wishing that he were _dead._ Who knows, with this place.

 

 

 

 

They come again in the night.

 

At first, Baekhyun thinks that the shuffling within the room is just someone moving about in the late hours, which happens often. So, he keeps his eyes closed and buries his face into his pillows to try and tune the noise out.

 

Then, he hears a noise that makes his blood turn to ice.

 

The sound of muffled sobbing reaches his ears, and he bolts up immediately.

 

The only thing that Baekhyun can make out in the darkness are two women are trying to haul someone out of the room, picking him up from his bed as he cries out behind a gag of some sort, but this is enough to make his mind fall into panic mode _immediately._

 

“Put him _down!”_ Baekhyun hears Kyungsoo suddenly roar from across the room. “Let him _go!_ You already took _one_. Let him _go!”_  
  


Baekhyun listens as Kyungsoo rolls out of his bed and stomps over to the women, and the sound of a struggle follows. Somehow, during the almost invisible fight, the gag must have fallen from the mouth of the man that is about to be taken away, and he is finally able to plead for help.

 

 _“Help!”_ Junmyeon screams as the sounds of punching, heavy breathing, crying, and shuffling continue in the background.

 

Baekhyun rises to his feet in an instant. It was bad enough that those monsters took Yixing away, but _Junmyeon?_ Yeah, right.

 

Baekhyun finds the group quickly and tries desperately to pry Junmyeon from the thin arms that cling onto him. However, he quickly realizes that this task is _much_ more difficult than he had imagined it would be.

 

The robot-like women may have quite skinny arms, but they pack an _extraordinarily_ strong punch. Just one hit to the face sends Baekhyun flying back into the wall as if he is weightless He cries out and cradles his face as warm blood seeps through the cracks of his fingers. Despite the burning pain he feels, Baekhyun manages to rise back to his feet and try in vain once more to save the man who practically _runs_ this place. Just as he was the last time he tried to be a hero, he is knocked back into the wall by a tiny, pale fist. Only, this time, the searing pain of a second blow mixes _beautifully_ with the feeling of his head smacking against the wall like a basketball.

 

His vision swims as he tries desperately to keep himself upright. Dizziness overcomes him, and he feels the distant blackness in the back of his mind attempting to swallow him whole as the pain in his face makes him feel as though he has been set on fire with the hottest flames of the Underworld.

 

Soon enough, Kyungsoo runs out of fight as well and joins Baekhyun on the ground. The women then quickly drag Junmyeon out of the door, and light suddenly floods the room as the sound of the doors slamming shut echoes in Baekhyun’s ears.

 

Baekhyun looks around at all of the faces that stare back at him like a deer in headlights: baffled and unable to process what exactly they’re witnessing. His head throbs painfuly as he feels salty tears prick the corners of his eyes.

 

“Why didn’t you _help us?”_ Kyungsoo screams ferosciously at everyone, spitting blood onto the floor as he does.

 

The wide-eyed man looks like utter _hell,_ sporting a dark black eye and small red cuts all along his cheeks and plump lips. Baekhyun is sure that he must closely resemble this utterly tragic image, so he doesn’t even bother taking a glance in the mirror behind him. Besides, his head hurts too much to do much moving right now, anyway.

 

“I didn’t know what to _do!”_ Sehun yells as he starts to cry. “I barely even knew what was going _on.”_

 

“Listen, _waterworks,_ now isn’t the time for all of your sappy bullshit! I’m _pissed._ They took _Junmyeon._ They took the only one of us that has any _real_ brains all because you were too _scared_ to help us get him back!” Kyungsoo screams again as he wipes more blood from his lips and rubs a large bump that has started to form on the side of his head.

 

“Then what?” Chanyeol asks as he crosses his arms. “We get him back and then what? We live in peace and nothing bad happens anymore? Yixing comes back with a smile on his _pretty face_ and a lollipop in his hand? That isn’t how this works. I can tell you that _right now._ Those women are vengeful beings and wouldn’t settle for just _backing down_ if you somehow overpowered them _._ _I_ would know that for sure. They’ll return as ten or maybe even twenty, get what they wanted or perhaps even _more,_ and then walk away as if it’s nothing like they _just did._ And then they’d make Yixing and Junmyeon’s lives living _hell_ or perhaps just _kill them_ so that they can laugh in our faces. So, shut up, _Kyungsoo._ I don’t want to hear you complain about something that couldn’t have been avoided no matter _what.”_

 

“What did they _do_ to you in there?” Jongin asks softly as he stares at Chanyeol with tears in his bright blue eyes. “They must have _really_ screwed with you to make you so passionate about us steering clear of them.”

 

“What did they _do?”_ Chanyeol scoffs as he shakes his head. “The unimaginable, of course. They kept me in a _cage_ and beat me constantly, throwing me up against walls and pounding me into the ground within an inch of my life. They gave me experimental medications that made me continuously vomit for hours on end or experience such excruciating pain that made me think I was _truly_ going to die or at least _wish_ that I was. They put red dye in my eyes that can obviously never be removed and made me do terrible things with my fire powers that I _really_ wouldn’t like to mention. They hit me with pipes and bats and constantly cut me with large knives. They punished me for using my own ability on _accident,_ for abusing a power that _they_ gave me. They put me in _literal_ Hell on Earth, and I would rather _die_ than go back.”

 

Baekhyun’s skin crawls and a shiver runs down his spine as the pain in Chanyeol’s voice completely shatters his heart.

 

“Do you know who they are? Did you ever figure out where we are or why we’re in here?” the man with no name asks softly with a glint of hope in his eyes.

 

Chanyeol sighs and shakes his head sadly before continuing.  “No, I don’t know who these people are, why we are here, or where _‘here’_ even is. But, I do know one thing for _sure:_ they are _monsters_ who couldn’t care less about our well-being or comfort. They want something from us, and while I do not know what that _is_ , I _do_ know that it’s nothing that any of us would like to give them.”

 

 


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi i'm back and i'm excited for this story to reach its climax

When Baekhyun finally lets his eyes slowly open from the short nap he had taken the day after Junmyeon and Yixing were taken, everything is _all wrong._

 

First of all, he is now by himself instead of in Chanyeol’s bed, where he usually sleeps to comfort himself in the dark nights. The warmth of Chanyeol’s large body has been stolen away, and Baekhyun is left with an icy feeling of loneliness.

 

Secondly, and most _importantly_ , this is _not_ his bed.

 

The surface that Baekhyun now lies on isn’t even a _bed_ at all. He is on top of a thin mattress with no sheets, blankets, or pillows. There is railing on either side of the mattress and on the top and bottom. It is raised up off of the ground and seems to be on wheels, as if it is used for transportation. He now feels as though he’s in a hospital more than ever.

 

The ugly hospital gown has been stripped from his body and replaced with even _more_ uncomfortable attire.

 

Baekhyun is now wearing a skin-tight white cotton shirt that snakes up his neck a bit almost like a turtleneck sweater. On top of that, he is dressed in a thin white jacket that has perfectly pointed shoulders and straight, white pants that have two black stripes running down the side of both legs. His black shoes have also been replaced with white ones that slightly resemble sneakers.

 

The _room_ that he is now in isn’t even the same. It is still a circle, but definitely _not_ the same circle that he has spent the last few weeks in. The floor is pure white with red lines running in a strange sort of pattern all over it. The walls are more or less the same, but the mirrors are gone. Now, there are windows. Outside of them is not the outside world, but another large, white room. Inside of the room, there are bars set up on some of the walls, set up like a ladder that’s used to get onto a roof or an upper level of some sort.

 

Around Baekhyun, he can see the bodies of friends are all sleeping in the same type of beds. All eight bodies are present in the circle, which means that Junmyeon and Yixing must have returned during Baekhyun’s slumber.

 

Along with the different room, there are now different items within it, as well. There is more medical equipment beside of Baekhyun’s bed, making the place seem more like a hospital than ever yet again. A shiver runs down the frightened man’s spine as he catches sight of a couple of terribly long needles laying atop of a small, metal table to his left.

 

Baekhyun groans as he swings his feet out of the right side of his bed and onto the floor, his head beginning to pound as he recalls the brutal beating he took the day before.

 

“Hey,” he mumbles as he turns to his right to address Chanyeol. “Wake up.”

 

When he receives no response, Baekhyun stands up slowly and stumbles over to the railing of Chanyeol’s bed. When he catches sight of the man’s appearance, he audibly gasps.

 

All of Chanyeol’s deep cuts and purple bruises have faded away into smooth, unblemished skin that shines into Baekhyun’s eyes. The shaggy, red hair that had turned into a trademark symbol of the boy Baekhyun loves the most has been trimmed down into a perfect, wavy cut that splits down the side. Baekhyun’s guardian angel looks clean and polished, like a little girl getting ready for a beauty pageant. He wears the same clothes that Baekhyun does, the tight, white fabric complimenting the shape of his body perfectly. Chanyeol has been _reborn,_ and he more beautiful than ever.

 

“Chanyeol,” Baekhyun whispers as he lets his fingertips slide down the honey-like skin that now covers the beautiful surface of Chanyeol’s full cheek. His lips pull into a small smile as his eyes take in the pure beauty before him.

 

Slowly, Chanyeol’s eyes flutter open, their unnatural red hue clashing violently with his new, clean appearance.

 

“Hey,” Chanyeol croaks, his beautiful morning voice somehow still making Baekhyun’s heart flutter in this 1frightening situation.

 

The man’s eyes are only relaxed for mere seconds before they start to dart around the room frantically as the pieces fall into place, and he realizes what has happened; they’ve been _moved._

“Where _are_ we?” he yells as he suddenly bolts up from his laying position. “Guys, _wake up!”_

 

Jongdae is the first to sit up, his eyes half-closed as he yawns softly. His hair is just like Chanyeol’s: perfectly trimmed and styled. He wears the white outfit, as well.

 

“Did they move us, or am I just finally starting to _hallucinate?”_ he asks as his eyes float around the room lazily.

 

“They moved us,” Baekhyun says firmly and loudly as Jongin’s head rises from his bed.

 

“What the _hell?”_ Jongin asks in a sad tone as he pats the mattress beneath him and sighs. “As if things couldn’t get _any_ worse.”

 

“Did we _do something_ to be put in here?” the man with no name asks, who must have somehow woken up without Baekhyun realzing.

 

“I don’t think so,” Jongin says, fear dripping off of his words as he rises to his feet. “This must be like…part _two.”_

“I don’t understand,” Chanyeol shouts a little too loudly for Baekhyu’s taste as he slams his hand down on the bed. “They just had to take things _further?_ Why not just _kill us_ already!”

 

“Didn’t you say they want something from us? Maybe this is part of that,” Sehun pipes up as he frowns.

 

Words are thrown back and forth, explanations and ideas are shared in terrified shouts and deadly whispers. Every word flies in one of Baekhyun’s ears and out of the other as he starts to panic.

 

Maybe this is the _end._ They’ve brought them here to end things, to experiment further and get what they came for. Maybe the end was closer than anyone had ever expected or wanted. Maybe, this is _it._

 

As Baekhyun’s breathing starts to quick and his heart begins to beat out of his chest, the yelling and screaming becomes louder and louder until it is only a background noise. It’s senseless noise bouncing back and forth in the space beneath Baekhyun’s thoughts.

 

“I don’t like this place,” a soft, familiar voice suddenly cuts through the chaos, breaking the barrier between background noise and decipherable words in Baekhyun’s frantic mind.

 

Baekhyun’s eyes fly over to where Junmyeon’s bed always has been, and there the man himself sits.

 

Junmyeon resembles the old Chanyeol a bit, now. There are cuts and bruises all over his face and neck, and his eyes have lost their excitement and their bright glow. The only thing that he has that Chanyeol did not are bright patches of red on his cheeks and forehead, the slightly blistered areas resembling terrible sunburn that one would receive after a day at the beach with no sunscreen.

 

 _“Junmyeon?”_ Baekhyun murmurs as he rises to his feet without even thinking about it, his feet willing themselves to move forward as the world seems to stop.

 

Everything is silent now as Baekhyun takes his time making his way over to Junmyeon’s side. A sad grin is plastered on the leader’s face as he holds his hand out to Baekhyun, who willingly takes a hold of it. The tiny, pale hand is cold and lifeless like that of a corpse, but there nonetheless.

 

“Hey,” Junmyeon says as his eyes glint the tiniest bit, the old Junmyeon flashing for half a second before retreating back behind the pained face that stares back at Baekhyun.

 

Baekhyun smiles as he lets Junmyeon’s hand go and gathers him into a hug. Despite looking so distant and cold, Junmyeon feels soft and safe like a fluffy teddy bear, just as he always has. Baekhyun feels tears drip down his cheeks as he stuffs his face into Junmyeon’s jacket. He hadn’t realized how much he’d truly missed the man until he finally had him back.

 

“I missed you,” Baekhyun murmurs as he stares blankly into space and lets the tears fall.

 

Junmyeon sighs as he rubs his hand lazily up and down Baekhyun’s back, the gesture reminding Baekhyun of something a mother would do with her young son after he injured himself.

 

“I missed you too. I missed everyone,” Junmyeon says, clearing his throat as he pulls away from Baekhyun and stares into his eyes, “but we _really_ have to talk. Seriously.”

 

Baekhyun nods as he pulls away. To his side, he catches sight of Kyungsoo, who has sat up and is now staring intensely at Yixing’s body, the protective vibe he sends off reminding Baekhyun of a dog protecting her pups from anyone trying to take them from her or hurt them.

 

“Are you _okay?”_ the man with no name asks hopefully as he stands from his bed.

 

Junmyeon nods firmly. “I’m as okay as I can be.” He takes a look around the room before continuing. “Someone wake Sehun up. And Yixing.”  


Jongin scurries back over to Sehun’s bed and starts to whisper into his ear inaudibly. Soon enough, Sehun sits up and rubs his eyes, yawning as he takes a quick look around. For some reason, he doesn’t seem surprised at all; Jongin must have warned him.

 

Kyungsoo walks over to Yixing’s bed carefully and calls his name, his deep voice booming across the room as he places a hand on Yixing’s shoulder and shakes him gently.

 

Yixing bolts up, his eyes wide open as he breathes heavily and moves his head in every direction.

 

“Yixing?” Kyungsoo calls, bending down to look into the panicked man’s eyes.

 

Yixing looks up at him, and although his breathing still stays rushed and ragged, and his hands stay clenched in fists, his eyes soften immediately.

 

“I’m _back,”_ he breathes as he gently lies his hand on Kyungsoo’s arm.

 

“Are you okay? Did they _hurt you?”_ Kyungsoo asks, dropping down to his knees in order to look his best friend in the eyes.

 

Yixing grins. “No, actually. They actually showed me something really _cool._ I was scared anyway, though. I missed you.”

 

Junmyeon steps forward, his eyes alight with bright flames of fury as he crosses his arms in front of him. “And _what_ did they show you?”

 

Yixing gasps as his eyes take in the sight of Junmyeon’s injured face. “This is the best time to show you!”  


Junmyeon starts to frown angrily as he gestures with his head for Yixing to go ahead and show him already. The tension in the room claws at Baekhyun’s skin, trapping him in an unescapable bubble of discomfort as Yixing nods his head excitedly.

 

“First, they just took me into a room with a table and some chairs and made me sit down. Then, two of them sat in front of me and like…helped me learn how to see again. It’s confusing, I know, but now I know where things are now and stuff. My perception of distance is fixed. I still close my eyes and touch things, though; it’s just easier,” Yixing says with a bright smile.

 

“Then,” he continues, “they showed me my _power._ And, it _does_ have to do with me seeing again!”

 

The excitement in Baekhyun’s voice makes Baekhyun want to smile, for hearing such joy come from another person makes his heart leap about happily. But, at the same time, however, it makes Baekhyun want to _throw up._ Baekhyun hates his power, as well as everyone else. It is cool and all, but it makes him feel as though he an experiment and no longer _human,_ which is absolutely _horrible_ on its own. Yixing, however, speaks so fondly of this mystery ability, and the tone in his voice infers that he thinks these women are the _good guys_ now since they’ve helped him so much. Has he been brainwashed, or is he just caught up in the excitement?

 

Baekhyun can tell that Junmyeon feels this way as well, jealously gleaming in his eyes as he watches Yixing tell his stories. He must feel _awful,_ for he was beaten and treated horribly while Yixing basically only took a little trip to the doctor.

 

“What is it?” Junmyeon asks, his eyes full of pain as he turns his head to the side in curiosity.

 

Yixing grins. “Come here, and I’ll show you.”  


Junmyeon warily makes his way over to Yixing’s bed and gestures for him to demonstrate his newfound ability.

 

Yixing nods and slowly reaches his hands up places them on Junmyeon’s puffy cheeks. He then closes his eyes tight and takes a deep breath. He seems unbelievably focused as something completely _impossible_ occurs beneath the pale skin of his fingertips.

 

The red, blistered patches on Junmyeon’s face are slowly turning back to the creamy shade that dominates the rest of his body. The bruises on his cheeks and around his nose are fading slowly, and the cuts on his lips seem to be closing themselves as if they are being pulled together by invisible stitches.

 

Baekhyun watches in awe, his mouth falling open as magic occurs right before him.

 

When Junmyeon’s face is completely clear, his skin now resembling that of a porcelain doll, Yixing collapses back onto his bed and pants heavily as grips the metal railing next to him.

 

“Oh my _god,”_ Jongin whispers as he runs a hand through his hair, which looks brighter than usual and has been slicked back perfectly.  

 

Junmyeon steps back from Yixing slowly, patting his face with wide eyes as the realization of what’s just happened hits him smack in the face.

 

 _“So,”_ Junmyeon mumbles as he smiles in amazement, “the blind man can _heal?_ My burns are completely _gone.”_

 

Yixing chuckles as he sits back up and shrugs sheepishly. “They only had me practice on dead plants. This is my first time doing it on a _person.”_

 

Junmyeon’s eyes light up immediately, and Baekhyun can practically _see_ the gears within his brain start to shift.

 

“So, you’d say that you just _strengthened_ your powers on you own?” Junmyeon asks, his voice raising in excitement.

 

Yixing shrugs once more. “I suppose so. What does that have to do with _anything?”_  
  


“Well,” Junmyeon says as he starts to pace back and forth in the middle of the room, “the thing that I wanted to talk about was getting the _hell_ out of here, and I think you just helped me form a plan.”

 

“What is it?” Baekhyun asks, his voice barely a whisper as he leans in to get a taste of the newfound electricity in the room that comes with Junmyeon’s eagerness.

 

“We have to _break out,_ obviously; there’s no other way,” Junmyeon says. “And, with what Yixing just showed me, I’m thinking of something new. What if we _strengthen_ ourselves? We have to focus on these powers they’ve given us and use them to our _advantage._ We need to put them to use, not _repress_ them. Then, we overpower them and leave this place behind in our nightmares. What do you guys think?”

 

Baekhyun, for one, is thinking that Junmyeon is a complete _maniac;_ how can his power of light be used to overpower _anyone?_ Or Sehun’s _wind_ power?

 

But, his friends don’t seem to be thinking in the same direction. Cheering has erupted within the room as smiles are flashing back and forth and plans are already being created.

 

“Jongdae and…,” Junmyeon glances over at the man with no name, _“this gy=uy_ still have to find what they’ve done to you. But, the rest of you have to start training yourselves as soon as possible. We _have_ to do this. Let’s show them who we really are!”

 

As more shouting and cheering starts to burst from the mouths of the men around him, Baekhyun finds himself _smiling._ He watches as Jongin and Jongdae scream back and forth wildly, as Sehun and Chanyeol talk about how cool it would be if Chanyeol lit someone on _fire,_ and as Yixing and the man with no name bet on if Yixing will be able to bring dead people back to life by the time this is all over.

 

Baekhyun’s soft heart swells with pride as things seem to fall into place.

 

Finally, they have a plan that seems almost _possible._ Freedom has never felt so close.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a reminder that I love anyone reading this with my whole heart you're my babies and i ADORE you!! (ha ha adore u ha ha seventeen reference ha ha)


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi i'm back! We are getting closer and closer to the climax and ending of this story! From here only MAJOR EVENTS shall occur (no more fillers) so please stay tuned im super excited!

  
When training begins, Baekhyun makes sure to keep himself as far away from Chanyeol as possible.

 

The red-haired man has been lighting his palms with orange and red flames over and over again for the past two _hours_ of practicing. With each flicker on his fingertips, the man’s eyes light up with a type of unexplainable energy that makes Baekhyun’s stomach churn. And, although Baekhyun adores the fact that the love of his life is having fun, he is all too afraid to step foot near him.

 

He simply stays near Jongin and Sehun, the two people who seem the most harmless of all.

 

Training started five days ago, when no one could do barely _anything._ None of the men were able to harness their power and control it in any way they’d want to nor did they even know _how_ they were supposed to do so.

 

However, after a ton of intense screaming from Yixing about _“feeling the ability on the inside,”_ Chanyeol was the first one to be able to make small flames appear and disappear at will. Then, everyone slowly followed suit. Now, things run smoothly.

 

Jongin is starting to transport himself longer distances, and he’s not so shocked as he once was each time he does it. He describes the sensation of disappearing and reappearing in thin air as “flying through an invisible sky.” He comments that, though it doesn’t exactly _hurt,_ teleporting does cause him to become _extremely_ nauseous upon arrival to his new location.

 

Sehun has made no progress yet, but everyone seems to believe in him and his sad little wind power that has proven to be utterly _worthless_ unless used to blow Jongin’s bleached hair out of his face playfully.

 

Baekhyun, however, has had a nice development just in the last few days that training has been in session. When he first started, he hadn’t exactly _understood_ how to control the small sun that burned within his soul. Now, he’s able to light up the room at night when the lights are off and can now control his excitement to prevent glowing each time Chanyeol barely _touches_ him.

 

The feeling of creating light is like speeding through the air on a rollercoaster: exhilarating yet utterly _terrifying._ Baekhyun scares himself each time he does it, each small glow on the pads of his fingers making him jump out of his skin. However, he’s thankful for how far he’s come; at least he can be of some use now.

 

As the sixth day of practicing and power development comes to a close, Baekhyun watches as Yixing heals what remains of Kyungsoo’s cuts and bruises from the beating he took a while ago. He had already healed Baekhyun’s the day he got back, causing the cream color of Baekhyun’s skin to return brighten and more alive than ever. Now, the healer’s fingertips are resting on Kyungsoo’s square eyes as he focuses all of his might into one person.

 

 _“Wow,”_ Kyungsoo mutters as he feels the now smooth skin that makes up his face.

 

Yixing grins up at him as he pants softly. “It’s getting easier now. At least I don’t almost _pass out_ every time I do it.”

 

Kyungsoo smiles shyly. “Yeah. I can control myself better, too. This force power or whatever it is actually pretty easy to deal with once you get the hang of it.”

 

Junmyeon laughs obnoxiously from behind them. “Yeah, because breaking one of the bars on your bed _totally_ equals being in control.”

 

Kyungsoo turns his head around and narrows his eyes at his friend. “Says the one that nearly _drowned_ himself in his sleep.”

 

Everyone starts to holler and cackle as Junmyeon blushes, trying in vain to explain his incident beneath the loud noise that now fills the room.

 

Then, there’s a sudden scream from the left side of the room. Baekhyun whips around immediately, his heart racing as thoughts of danger fly through his mind. However, it turns out to only be the man with no name, who is gaping at his Jongdae as he chuckles evilly.

 

“What was _that?”_ Junmyeon breathes as he runs a hand through his hair.

 

Jongdae chuckles. “I think we found out what my power is.”

 

Chanyeol groans from Baekhyun’s side, where he is usually standing. _“Jesus,_ man. You scared the _shit_ out of me.”

 

The man with no name glances up at Chanyeol with wide eyes. “He scared _you?_ It’s me that he _shocked!”_

“He _shocked_ you? Like when you rub your socks on carpet? That kind of shock?” Jongin asks softly from his place on Sehun’s bed, where he’s playing with a few strings on his jacket.

 

The man with no name shakes his head frantically. “No! Like… _lightning._ I saw a little yellow thing come out of his finger, and it _hurt._ He _shocked me,_ man.”

Jongdae just continues with his laughing, as if this is no big deal at all. “I guess I finally found my place in this band of super-humans.”

 

The man with no name rolls his eyes playfully as he rubs his arm softly. “Well, you might as well start training with them. I don’t want to get _electrocuted_ again.”

 

 

 

That evening, the group hold their first story time since they were moved to the new room. This time, the theme is cheesy horror stories to try and lighten up the mood. Besides, according to Junmyeon’s new calculations, it should be about time for Halloween in the real world.

 

“I’ll go first,” Chanyeol volunteers, his eyes shining as he stands in front of the circle that has formed on the floor.

 

The tall red-head clears his throat before starting with a shy grin, and Baekhyun feels his heart swell up to the point of bursting.

 

Sometimes, people may not realize how much they _truly_ care about something or someone until it hits them all at once. Something just clicks and everything falls into place. There’s a shift in the air and a movement in the stars when someone realizes that they’re in love. Everything changes in mere seconds, in the blink of an eye as if it was nothing at all.

 

Baekhyun feels this now as he watches Chanyeol start to speak passionately, his hands moving in sync with his excited words.

 

He feels warmth and happiness, things that should never be felt in this place but somehow always seem to find their way into Baekhyun’s heart. He feels as if things are right when they aren’t, as if life is perfect when it’s horrific. Maybe _this_ was what the man with no name was talking about when he said that Jongdae makes things feel calm and beautiful when they’re chaotic and terrifying. Maybe he was talking about _love._

 

A grin forms on Baekhyun’s face as a feeling so foreign to him that he almost forgot what it felt like blossoms within the depths of his soul. The feeling is sweet like candy and smooth like a kitten’s fur. It’s pacifying yet fear-inducing. The pleasing sensation is real _love._

 

When Chanyeol finishes his story (which Baekhyun paid absolutely _no_ attention to), he takes a seat next to Baekhyun and rests his large hand on the smaller man’s thigh.

 

“You seem a little _out of it,”_ Chanyeol comments with a sympathetic grin.

 

Baekhyun waves him off with a giggle. “I’m just really tired. That’s all.”  


Chanyeol hums in acknowledgment as he begins to rub his hands up and down Baekhyun’s back, the gesture sending a shiver down Baekhyun’s spine. “You need to _sleep._ Using those powers is really exhausting.”

 

Baekhyun shakes his head (though he truly _is_ quite fatigued) as he points at the people sitting before them. “I can’t. They’re having _fun._ That’d be rude just to go to _bed_ during all of this.”

 

Chanyeol shoves him over playfully. “Stop worrying about everyone else, and worry about _you_ for a change, Baek.”

 

Baekhyun groans as he lays his head on Chanyeol’s shoulder, the warmth the man’s body provides making him feel comfortable and safe. “I can’t do that. What you do for others matters more than what you do for yourself, Chanyeol. I read that in a quote once, and I think it makes a lot of sense.”

 

“Whatever you say,” Baekhyun’s partner sighs as he runs a hand through the smaller boy’s soft hair.

 

Baekhyun soon loses himself in the feeling of being cared for, in the feeling of security that he gets from the tall boy with maraschino cherries for eyes. He loses himself in the warmth and the soothing sounds of his friends’ stories. He loses it all until he has nothing left.

 

\------

 

When Baekhyun wakes up, he’s once again in an unfamiliar place. This time, the lights are too bright and the air too cold, but the bed beneath him is soft and fluffy as if it’s a cloud.

 

His eyes wonder around the room, looking for anything of significance. However, there is nothing in the room besides pure white walls and an infusion pump, which sits eerily by Baekhyun’s side like an insidious demon.

 

Baekhyun quickly glances down at his arm, and sure enough, there is a needle pushed deep into his pale skin. He feels the sudden urge to start crying as this sight sinks deep into his brain. What could they _possibly_ be doing to him now?

 

“Hello?” Baekhyun croaks, his throat causing him extreme pain as he attempts to scream for someone to assist him.

 

Never before has he been as terrified as he is now. Not even when he first arrived was he _this_ frightened. Baekhyun knows, of course, that his friends are still alive somewhere and living happily. The part of his brain that has somehow stayed calm during the past five minutes knows that he is in the same situation that Junmyeon, Yixing and Chanyeol were in: he’s been _taken._

 However, the other half of his mind can’t help but make Baekhyun ready to shit his _pants._ Everyone is gone, he’s alone, and now these _maniacs_ are pumping him more of some experimental product.

 

“Hello?” Baekhyun calls once more, just to calm himself down with the sound of his own voice. He knows that, in this place, there is no help, but it’s better to pretend like there is than face reality.

 

Time passes, slowly yet surely, and Baekhyun feels himself losing his sanity. He drifts in and out of consciences, his sleep dreamless and his waking hours uneventful. Despite the lack of anything occurring, Baekhyun feels oddly _suffocated._ The feeling of being trapped is almost too much to handle. Each minute is like an hour in the depths of Hell, and handling this situation well is something that he just can’t seem to figure out how to do.

 

But, after what seems like years, the door across the room creaks open. Baekhyun braces himself, getting prepared for the evil face of the woman that he will see.

 

However, the face that greets him in the doorway is anything _but_ evil.

 

 _“Mom?”_ Baekhyun mutters, tears slipping from his eyes as the word escapes his dry lips.

 

The middle-aged yet radiant and gorgeous woman in the doorway grins and waves towards Baekhyun lazily. “Hi, Baekhyun.”

 

Baekhyun starts to sob as the woman takes small steps toward him, his heart overcome with joy and relief as he looks into those dark eyes that he never knew he could miss so much.

 

“Why are you _here?_ How did you _find me?”_ he asks curiously as his mother takes a seat on the edge of his bed and grabs onto his hand, her touch warm and soothing.

 

“You are my _son,_ after all. I _had_ to find you,” Baekhyun’s mother replies with a warm grin.

 

“You never cared _before,_ ” Baekhyun murmurs as he closes his eyes softly, too many emotions overcoming him at once for him to stay focused.

 

“My _son,”_ the woman whispers, now sounding oddly distant and faded, “I _do_ care. That’s why you have to get out of here. Do it for _me._ Do it for your dear friends that you’ve made in this place. Do it for _Byun Baekhyun.”_

“I don’t understand; aren’t you here to _save me?”_ Baekhyun asks nervously, his eyes still glued shut as he speaks. “Aren’t you going to get me out?”

 

“No, my son.” The voice is quite far away now, as if Baekhyun could never reach it even if he traveled for the rest of eternity. “You have to find your _own way.”_  
  


 

 

When Baekhyun’s eyes pop open once more, he can feel a presence in the room, but it is not the same one he felt before. His eyes dart around the room until they land on a figure in the corner. It is one of the women, dressed in her white outfit and looking smart, as usual.

 

“Hello, Byun Baekhyun,” her robotic voice echoes across the room.

 

Baekhyun is too overwhelmed to speak. The images of his mother still float inside of his mind, her words of support screaming at him.

 

_You have to find your own way._

Even though he knows that it all must have been a sweet, delicious dream that he so _desperately_ needed to keep him sane, Baekhyun still clings onto the feeling of his mother’s touch as if it were reality.

 

“I suppose you’re wondering why we haven’t done anything to hurt you,” the woman continues with a grin that looks too forced to be genuine.

 

Baekhyun shakes his head, his heart thumping out of his chest as he does.

 

“Well,” the woman says as she takes a few steps closer, “it is because of very _special_ reason that I assume you’ll be _quite_ pleased to hear about.”

 

Baekhyun shakes his head once more, faster this time as the urge to plug his ears starts to eat him alive.

 

“Baekhyun, you’re a very _special_ boy. We chose you for a _reason,_ you know. You weren’t _given_ the power of the light, you were _born_ with a light of your own. You have _always_ shined, and we have seen it for ourselves.”

 

Baekhyun feels the need to _vomit_ as she continues.

 

“We won’t ever hurt _you,_ Byun Baekhyun. You are our _prize,_ our _hero_ in this world. You are the one that will grant us the _power,_ the power to influence _all._ You truly are the _light._ Do you understand what I’m saying?”

 

“Why did you hurt my friends?” Baekhyun questions, completely ignoring the strange statements the robot-like woman had made.

 

The woman smiles again. “It’s all part of our experiments, Baekhyun. You’re a part of that as well, just not in the same way.”  


“When can I go back to them?” Baekhyun asks, his voice taking on a demanding sort of tone.

 

The woman shrugs lazily. “Whenever you want.”

 

Baekhyun squints his eyes at her suspiciously. “What’s _that_ supposed to mean?”

 

“It _means,”_ the woman says as she steps closer to Baekhyun and lays an icy cold hand on his arm, “that you can _go._ We don’t need you anymore… _for now.”_

 

For some reason, this statement sends Baekhyun into a wave of panic. It shouldn’t be this easy. Getting away from the monsters shouldn’t be _his choice._ The situation just seems too untrustworthy.

 

“Then let me _go,”_ Baekhyun demands despite his doubts.

 

The woman calmly yet oh-so _menacingly_ reaches into her pocket and pulls out a tiny syringe filled with clear liquid. “Will do.”

 

Baekhyun’s mouth wants to let out a scream as the monster injects him with the liquid in one swift motion. the mysterious contents of the syringe floating into his bloodstream with ease. However, he can’t find the strength. Everything is fading away, and Baekhyun cannot seem to keep a grip on the thoughts that run through his mind.

 

 

 

 

“Oh my _god,”_ a familiar voice screams in a far-away place, “guys wake up! _Baekhyun is back!”_

 

Baekhyun recognizes the voice, but can’t quite match a face to the deep, husky tone that calls his name again and again. It’s faded, not really breaking through the haze in Baekhyun’s mind.

 

 _“Baekhyun?”_ a softer, quieter voice calls. “Can you hear me?”

 

Baekhyun feels the need to reply, to respond to the calls of his name, but his eyes aren’t able to open, and his mouth is unable to speak.

 

Then, there are hands on his face. The palms are large and rough, but their touch is soft and gentle. The single touch sends a wave of happiness through the boy’s whole body, and he wants more than ever just to _wake up._

 

“Hey, babe,” someone murmurs above him. _“Please_ wake up. Wake up for me, Baekhyun.”

 

With that, the strength to come alive once more overcomes Baekhyun, and he finds it within himself to rip open his eyelids and stare deeply into the large pair of fiery red eyes that hover above him. Everything hits him all at once: relief, joy, and pure, raw _love._

 

His heart screams at him to kiss Chanyeol or even just _hug him,_ for he’s missed his face more than he ever thought that he could. That cute little nose and perfectly-plump lips are like a home, and Baekhyun has been fucking _homesick._ However, for once, Baekhyun’s reasonable mind overcomes his soft, empathetic heart and speaks for him, the words that need to be said flowing from his mouth smoothly and easily.

 

“We have to get out of here.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I added that little halloween thing in there bc it's spooky time ladies and we have to respect that!!!


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've read through this fic a bit and i just wanna apologize for any spelling errors you see anywhere! I edit my chapters, but i miss silly mistakes sometimes, so i apologize.

“How were things in there?”

 

Baekhyun groans internally as the question floats in one of his ears and out of the other. This is the main reason why he had never liked interesting things happening to him; people just never stop asking _questions._

 

However, since it is _Chanyeol_ asking, after all, Baekhyun can’t help but give an answer with the best attitude that he can muster.

 

“It was fine. Nothing much happened. I had a dream about my mom, though. That’s why I know we have to leave and soon,” Baekhyun lies through his teeth.

 

He hadn’t bothered telling anyone about the robotic woman and what she had said about Baekhyun. That would only scare them even more and make things worse. So, he lies about how he knows that the group must leave and quickly, at that. The real reason lies in those words that the woman shoved into Baekhyun’s ears.

 

“Junmyeon is working on it,” Chanyeol replies with a grin. “We can’t leave, just yet. We aren’t strong enough to just _bust out.”_

Baekhyun only nods, not feeling up to replying to something so hurtful yet so _obvious_ at the same time. He and Chanyeol are lying in Chanyeol’s bed, their bodies facing each other so that Baekhyun’s eyes may be fixed on his lover’s for as long as he wishes. This is how it’s been during the few hours that Baekhyun has been back, and he doesn’t want anything to change any time soon.

 

Chanyeol looks more beautiful than ever just like this, with his hair a mess and his eyes all tired and such. He looks normal and natural, just as he should. At times, Baekhyun wishes that things could be different. He’s desperate for a different life than this, one where he and Chanyeol would have a normal romance like other people.

 

From the day Baekhyun had gotten to know Chanyeol, he has known that the tall boy is all that he has ever wanted. He’s kind and fun, caring and sweet, with a handsome face and a loving heart. Baekhyun cherishes every moment spent with him, even those spent in total silence. He just wishes that everything would be different.

 

“What’s the matter?” Chanyeol suddenly ponders, his hand resting on Baekhyun’s arm.

 

Baekhyun shakes his head, wiping tears away that he hadn’t even realized were there until just now.

 

Chanyeol quickly proceeds to pull Baekhyun into his chest, cradling him carefully as if he is a small child.

 

“Did they _hurt you?_ Is that it?” Chanyeol whispers into Baekhyun’s hair.

 

Baekhyun shakes his head, trying desperately to fight off more tears as he does. “No. It’s _you.”_

Chanyeol pulls away momentarily, his eyes looking hurt as he stares down at Baekhyun’s tiny body. “What’d I do?”  


Baekhyun shakes his head with a sad smile as he reaches up to hold Chanyeol’s face in his hands. His skin is warm, as if there are flames burning viciously beneath it.

 

“It’s not anything you _did._ I just wish that we weren’t here but still _together,_ you know? I wish we could go on dates and do things like _real_ people.”

 

Chanyeol nods as he grins. “I know what you mean, my love. In time, we will be like everyone else, but for now, this is how it is. Now, stop being so _mopey_ and _kiss me.”_

 

And, when Baekhyun’s lips meet Chanyeol’s, their bodies closing the small space between them, Baekhyun swears he feels his heart shatter into pieces.

 

Chanyeol is wrong, and that is one thing Baekhyun knows for _sure._ There will never be a _“normal”_ Chanyeol and Baekhyun. They will always be this way, trapped and scared, no matter if they escape this place or not.

 

 

The next morning, Baekhyun wakes up by himself instead of besides of Chanyeol once more. This time, he hears female voices bouncing back and forth across the room, their monotone tones sending a shiver down his spine.

 

The boy doesn’t dare to open his eyes, but instead keeps them closed so that he may eavesdrop on the conversation at hand.

“Injecting number twenty-one now. How is ten doing?” a voice across the room asks.

 

“Ten has the injection. How is four?”

 

A voice right next to Baekhyun’s face speaks now. “Injection has been inserted. He should regain consciousness momentarily.”

 

“Is our work done?”

 

A woman that seems as though she is next to Chanyeol chuckles, and it is the most gut-wrenching sound that Baekhyun has ever heard. It reminds him of the sound of nails on a chalkboard, the tone terrifying and wrong in every way possible.

 

“I suppose so. Good work. And _thank you,_ Mr. Kim, for keeping calm. I’m sure that you’ll be rewarded in time,” the one near Chanyeol says.

 

Then, as soon as the sound of footsteps exiting the room has ceased and the door has slammed shut, Baekhyun bolts upright. He immediately fixes his eyes on Jongdae, who looks near tears as he grips at the bars besides of his bed.

 

“Were you the _‘Mr. Kim’_ they were talking to?” Baekhyun asks softly, trying not to wake the rest of the sleeping men.

 

Jongdae nods slowly. “I’m kinda scared _shitless,_ man. They just put some weird _blue stuff_ in our veins, and they seemed pretty _excited_ about it, too.”

 

Baekhyun tries not to let his fear show in his eyes as he shakes his head slowly. “Were you awake the _whole time?”_

 

Jongdae nods again. “Yeah. I didn’t move or speak or anything; I was too scared to try anything. I didn’t want anyone to get hurt.”  


As he says this, his eyes shoot over to the man with no name’s bed, his gaze softening as the man he loves comes into view.

 

“Hey. What’s up?” Baekhyun hears Chanyeol ask from his side, his voice a low grumble.

 

Baekhyun turns to him and smiles, though there is no joy in his heart at the moment. All that’s present is pure fear, and no smile can erase that.

 

“There were women in here. They injected us again. Are you feeling okay?” Baekhyun asks, trying to seem focused.

 

Chanyeol nods, running a hand through his hair as he does. “Sure. Should we wake them up?”

 

Baekhyun agrees, and soon, all nine prisoners have awakened and gotten word of the news. Most are scared, though people like Junmyeon and Yixing are focused and now more determined than _ever_ to break out.

 

“This is _it,”_ Junmyeon addresses the group, his voice soft yet powerful. “I’m done feeling like a goddamn _science experiment._ Today, we’re working on a plan. We have to be careful and know who is going where and doing what. Then, tomorrow, we’re _gone.”_

“But, we’re not _strong enough_ for that!” Jongin exclaims as he wipes tears from his eyes. “It’ll be for _nothing!”_

 

Junmyeon shakes his head and slams his fist down onto his bed. “Don’t _say that!_ We _can_ do this! We’ve _got to!”_

 

“But, he doesn’t even have a _power_ yet!” Kyungsoo exclaims as he points at the man with no name, who looks _beyond_ terrified.

 

“We’ll figure it out! We’ll figure _everything_ out! We can do it! Today is the day to figure our shit out because tomorrow _, I’m_ leaving, whether it’s with or without you guys.”

 

 

That day is probably one of the _worst_ days that Baekhyun has had while captured.

 

The training is intense, and by the time the day is coming to a close, he can barely stand up. During all of the pain, however, there have been some _major_ developments to lighten things up a bit.

 

Sehun has now found a way to create small wind storms around him, which have proven not to be too destructive but better than what he once had to work with.  

 

The man with no name found his power after all, and Baekhyun has never been prouder of another person in his entire _life._ The man had just focused everything he had into the palms of his hands as Yixing screamed at him to push forward and find it within. And then, there was frost covering the tips of the man’s fingertips. There was momentary cheering and screaming of the newly discovered “ice power,” and then everyone went back to training as if nothing had happened.

 

Chanyeol can now make balls of fire within his hands that he’s _sure_ he’ll be able to throw at any oncoming enemy, and Junmyeon can do the same with his water. Jongin can transport to any bed in the room, and Jongdae can control any electricity in the room along with creating his quite painful shocks that he can give with his fingertips. Baekhyun can now capture the lights in the room, absorbing them momentarily and causing complete darkness before returning them to their place in the ceiling. Kyungsoo can break anything that’s put in his hands, and he has also found a way to create bigger cracks in the floor, though Baekhyun sees no point in that.

 

Junmyeon turned out to be quite correct about the group’s total strength, for by the time the lights are out and the group has settled for their final story time, everyone feels a newfound flame of victory deep within themselves despite the extreme fatigue that has overcome the whole group.

 

“So, this is it,” Kyungsoo begins, taking the leader position from Junmyeon at his own will as he does. “This may be the last time we all get to sit down and really _talk_ to each other, to spend time together. Do you _realize that?”_

 

Everyone nods along quietly, and Baekhyun starts to feel the familiar pain of heartbreak within his chest.

 

“So, let’s get stuff off our chests. Let’s have a story time but with stories that we’ve gotten from our time _here,_ not from our past lives. Or, you can just say what you like to say. You want to go first?”

 

As Kyungsoo asks this question, he gestures towards the man with no name, who is beaming in the light that radiates from Baekhyun’s palms.

 

“Sure,” the man replies with a grin. “Umm…I can talk about when I first met Jongdae?”

 

“Does anyone want to hear _that_ sappy shit?” Jongin comments jokingly as he chuckles.

 

Sehun shoves him faceticiously, his face alight with a joyful smile as Jongin calms himself down so that the man with no name may speak.

 

“Well, he scared me _a lot_ when I first started talking to him,” he begins sheepishly.

 

This gets a laugh out of everyone, even Baekhyun, who has had a quite melancholy atmosphere around him tonight.

 

“But, I thought he was funny and quite _handsome,_ so I became his friend. And soon, I realized that he was _different._ He’s not like everyone else. Jongdae is different. He’s not all that scary or too mean once you get to know him. He’s actually pretty nice, and he gets me like I get him. He’s even helped me remember some stuff, so I think he’s not that evil guy that we all once knew. That’s the best memories I have out of the ones I’ve made here,” the man with no name finishes, tears falling down his face as he does.

 

Jongdae pulls the smaller man into his arms and cradles him like a child, whispering words into his ear like a mother with her child.

 

Baekhyun feels warmth in his soul as he watches them. The man with no name has blossomed into more than just a guy with no memory and a pretty smile. He’s now a loved man with a purpose and a job in this world that finally has some stories of his own to tell.

 

“That was a _wonderful_ first story,” Junmyeon says, smiling brighter than he ever has before as he then points at Kyungsoo to go next.

 

Kyungsoo takes a deep breath, glances at Yixing, who is sitting soundly by his side, and begins his story.

 

“First of all, I just wanna say that I initially thought that Chanyeol was a complete _ass_ and a _total_ waste of space,” he says with a smile.

 

“Right back at you!” Chanyeol shouts, grabbing onto Baekhyun’s hand as he does.

 

“But,” Kyungsoo continues after the group’s laughter has died down, “I’ve come to like him a lot. Also, I wanna say that I’m glad I got to know you, Baekhyun. I used to think you were just some spoiled brat that was too handsome to have any common sense, but now I see that you’re a cool person on the inside. Maybe, when we get back, you can help me with my trig homework. I kind of suck at that class.”

 

Baekhyun beams at his classmate as happiness floods over him. “Thanks, Kyungsoo, but I don’t know about the homework thing. I suck at trig, too.”

 

Kyungsoo waves him off with a chuckle as he continues. “Anyway, what I _really_ want to talk about is _Yixing.”_

He then shoots a caring glance at Yixing and grins before continuing.

 

“Well, I’ve always liked Yixing. At first, I pitied him and wanted to help any way I could while everyone else was busy with _romance_ or freaking out _constantly._ That’s why I started helping him at first. But, then, I realized that he’s actually an _amazing_ person, and I became not only a helper, but a _friend.”_

 

Yixing grins from his side, but Kyungsoo just holds finger up to him so that everyone knows that he is nowhere _near_ finished.

 

“So, when he got his sight back, I was actually pretty _sad._ I hate to admit it, but I’ve always been kind of _selfish._ I hated not having Yixing all to myself and being able to help him, since that made me happy. I really hope that this doesn’t make me seem like a bad person. I obviously don’t feel this way anymore, but I wanted to get it off of my chest.”  


Internally, everything is coming together in Baekhyun’s mind, since he had noticed that Kyungsoo had seemed upset when Yixing had regained his sight. On the outside however, he tries his best to look as though he’s focused on Yixing, who is crying a little.

 

“It’s _okay,_ Kyungsoo. I’m glad you told us. I _love you_ man. Thank you for everything,” Yixing mumbles as he pulls Kyungsoo into a long, meaningful hug.

 

“I’ll go!” Sehun offers after the sentimental moment has passed. “Mine is short and not really a _story,_ but a _thank you letter_ of sorts. I just want to thank you all for being so kind. No one in my life has ever shown that they cared about me before I met you guys, and I appreciate it. And thank _you,_ Jongdae, for warming up to me and becoming a pretty cool guy.”  


Jongdae just waves him off as Junmyeon offers to tell the next story.

 

 

“First of all, thank you all for accepting me as your _‘leader,’”_ Junmyeon starts with his soft voice.

 

Everyone adds their words of thankfulness for the man’s brave leadership before they allow him to continue.

 

“Now, all I have to say is that I’m so _proud_ of you. You’ve all come so far. When I first woke up, all you guys did was fight and argue _constantly;_ I was afraid one of you would kill the other But, now, we’re like a _family._ We’re no longer scared and angry, but loving and kind. I’m thankful for the friends I’ve been able to make here and for the love of _all types_ that has formed within these walls. I hope we can keep in touch in the real world.”

 

This small speech earns many cheers and a few tears from both Baekhyun and Chanyeol, who have both been quite emotional tonight.

 

Jongin goes next, talking briefly of his love for Sehun and fried chicken. Then, it’s Chanyeol, who speaks of Baekhyun with such love and positivity that Baekhyun is sobbing by the end of his speech. He had even referred to Baekhyun as his “angel,” which had made Baekhyun’s heart almost _give out._

Then, it’s Baekhyun, who has been left for second-to-last. He only gives a few words of thanks for Chanyeol and his friends, for he is too overwhelmed to say much of anything else.

 

After that, it’s Jongdae’s turn, and he seems too _nervous_ to say anything.

 

“Okay so,” he says his eyes darting around the group frantically as he does, “I have something to tell you guys. You may not like it, but I feel like it has to be said before we like… _break out,_ you know?”  


The room falls silent, and Baekhyun feels himself slowly becoming nervous as well.

 

“So,” Jongdae continues slowly, “I know something that you all don’t.”  


He pauses and takes a deep breath, grabbing onto the man with no name’s hand before he begins to speak once more.

 

“So, I remember _everything._ I never told you guys because I didn’t know how to. I was such an asshole at first because I didn’t want anyone to warm up to me and figure it out. But then, I just couldn’t help but be nice like I usually am, yet I _still_ couldn’t find a way to let the secret out. But now, it has to happen. So, I’m telling you that I remember everything. I remember it like it was yesterday.”

  
“I was walking down the road on my way to school. It was cold, and I was in a pissy mood already. But, when I noticed this woman that kept following me everywhere I went, I got even _angrier._ It was a woman like the ones here, but she was in every-day clothes, not that weird outfit they wear. I spent a _long_ time trying to get rid of her. I even took the wrong way to school through different backroads and shit to try and lose her, but she was _still there._ Finally, I turned around and asked her what she wanted from me. She only asked if my name was Kim Jongdae, and I said yes, _obviously._ Then, she shot me with some tranquilizer dart like they use on elephants or whatever, and then the memory goes black for a bit. But, I woke up in the back of a van or some sort of truck. I just peeked through my eyelids so that they wouldn’t know I woke up and put me back down, so I couldn’t see well. There were women in there, all talking about how they captured all of you. Then, they stopped the van, opened the doors, and carried me out.”

 

“I peeked the whole way here. We’re _underground._ They took a staircase that seems unbelievably long down way into the Earth and then went through a big door. After that there were more big, thick metal doors. I remember being sat in here with a few of you. I was one of the last ones. Anyway, we’re in a room near the center of this place. I don’t really remember a lot about what’s around us since my vision wasn’t the best, but there are a lot of hallways and doors, and they keep it pretty dark out there. At first, when I woke up again, I was sure that there was no way out of here and that you were all _idiots._ But, now I think we can do it. Once again, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you guys, I just-”

 

“Don’t apologize,” Junmyeon murmurs from his place in the circle as a smile finds its way onto his face. “You just made things _so_ much easier. We really _are_ getting the hell out of here.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> after this things are boutta be WILD (and i apologize in advance)


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so excited

The day that the breakout is supposed to occur, Baekhyun wakes up _extremely_ anxious, and it seems like everyone around him is as well.

 

All nine men seem quite off and tend to bite their nails the next morning, even _Junmyeon,_ who has seemed quite fearless for the last few days. However, they all know that they must go through with their plan, for this may their only chance of escape.

 

The plan that took Kyungsoo and Junmyeon “ _hours”_ to complete goes as follows:

 

  * Kyungsoo breaks the windows with his power of force, creating a way of escape that isn’t the hopelessly locked door.
  * Everyone helps each other out and into the room beyond their prison.
  * Run and never look back.



 

Baekhyun is confident, but somehow so _terrified_ at the same time. This plan could fail in _so_ many ways, and they would all be back to square one, strapped down and fearing for their lives.

 

The day passes slowly, and most staying silent or talking in hushed voices during their last hours of calm captivity.

 

Baekhyun has just been thinking a lot, mostly about things that the group never had the chance to figure out in their time held captive. He thinks of Jongin’s strange blue eyes, everyone’s shining skin, the black eyes, Chanyeol’s red eyes, the strange outfits, and the man with no name’s lack of memory. All of these things will forever be without an explanation, and for some reason, this hurts Baekhyun more than he thinks that it should.

 

As he does this, Baekhyun lies with Chanyeol in his bed, his small body shaped perfectly to the curve of Chanyeol’s as they lay quietly.

 

“Baekhyun,” Chanyeol whispers after what seems like centuries of utter silence. “Should we _talk?”_

 

Baekhyun doesn’t even bother turning around to look Chanyeol in the eyes. He just stays staring at the wall before him as he speaks, his thoughts still running wild. “About what?”

 

“Us.”

 

Now, Baekhyun turns around. Chanyeol’s face is pained, and his eyes are full of tears. Baekhyun rests a hand on the man’s face, wiping away a tear that is beginning to make its way own Chanyeol’s squishy cheek.

 

“What about us?”

 

“What if I never see you again after all of this?” Chanyeol asks softly as he begins to sob.

 

Baekhyun fights back tears of his own as he shrugs as if this is no big deal at all. “When we get out, you’re mine _forever,_ right? We can be together, just like we talked about. Don’t think like that.”  


Chanyeol’s eyes light up a little. _“Yours forever?”_

 

Baekhyun nods, a smile creeping onto his lips as he watches Chanyeol begin to giggle cutely.

 

“Mine. _All_ mine. I _promise,”_ Baekhyun whispers as warm tears begin to fall.

 

Chanyeol nods his head, his cheeks turning bright red as he lays a hand on Baekhyun’s shoulder. “That sounds nice.”

 

Baekhyun nods again, scooting in closer to Chanyeol until there is no more space between them, just as it should be.

 

“But do you mean it? Do you really mean _‘forever?’”_ Chanyeol asks hopefully, his face somehow looking cheerful as he sobs uncontrollably.

 

Baekhyun had never before been able to see himself being married. He had always known that, if he did marry, it would have to be with a woman to please his parents, and that fact on its _own_ depressed him. He also felt as though he could never find real love, even if he _were_ allowed to be with men. He had never thought that he could have what it took. Sure, he knew that he was attractive and smart, but never had he thought that he possessed the _heart_ for marriage. However, considering the fact that Chanyeol is indeed _male_ and also makes Baekhyun feel as though he truly does have what it takes to be strong and really _love_ another person, Baekhyun could now _truly_ see himself being married.

 

He sees himself with a bright-faced man who gets strange stares in the grocery store due to his extremely tall height and abnormal hair. He sees himself in a cozy home, living life to the fullest with the only person that he has ever been truly nervous around, with the only person that can make Baekhyun feel as though he is _flying._

He sees himself full of joy and hope for a glorious future all because of one _stupid_ guy.

 

Baekhyun sees himself with Chanyeol, the image so strong and so _real_ in his mind that he has to believe that it will one day happen. So, he nods.

 

Yes. He really _does_ mean it when he says ‘forever.’

 

He then reaches up and starts the longest, most passionate kiss that has yet to be shared in this prison, for his fears of being stared at by his friends are no more. He just lets his lips mold into Chanyeol’s, their tears mixing together as their hands grip into each other’s hair. This is a kiss that says “forever,” but also one that says “goodbye,” as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Please, watch for the glass, okay?” Kyungsoo warns as everyone readies themselves.

 

The time has come, and Baekhyun feels ready to _puke_ all over Chanyeol, who is holding onto his hand so tightly that it’s almost _painful._

Everyone has just finished goodbyes, and during all of the words of farewell, Baekhyun couldn’t control his sobbing. Sure, they will see eachother after this, but no one knows for how long. So, they all say goodbye.

 

 The end has finally come, and he never though he would be so _upset_ to be getting the hell out of here. The fact that this may be the last time that he sees some of these faces completely _destroys_ him.

 

“Is everyone ready?” Junmyeon asks, his voice quivering a bit as he tries his best to look fearless.

 

Everyone nods, even though Baekhyun doesn’t think that he’ll _ever_ be ready for this.

 

“Okay,” Kyungsoo says with a deep breath. He’s standing next to a window, trying to muster up as much strength as he can before the time truly arrives. “You all have _thirty seconds.”_  
  
Baekhyun takes one last look around and takes in all of the little details that he wants to carry with him out of this place.

 

Jongin’s beautiful skin that resembles the color of a butterscotch candy.

 

Sehun’s perfectly-shaped eyebrows that somehow make him look angry even when he’s not.

 

Junmyeon’s handsome features that make him look almost _godly._

Jongdae’s nose that has now made Baekhyun believe that noses can indeed be _cute._

 

The man with no name’s wide eyes.

 

Kyungsoo’s full lips.

 

Yixing’s perfect jawline.

 

Chanyeol’s bright hair that shines in Baekhyun’s wildest dreams.

 

All of this sticks into Baekhyun’s mind, clinging on as a little souvenir of the best family in the world as Kyungsoo counts down.

 

“5, 4…”

 

Baekhyun takes a deep breath and gets ready to run.

 

“3, 2…”  


He squeezes Chanyeol’s hand and tries not to cry.

 

“1!”

 

Baekhyun is practically sobbing as Kyungsoo lets out a roar of sorts as the windows burst from the outside, the glass showering the room as everyone begins to crawl out.

 

Chanyeol helps Baekhyun out the windowpane nearest to his bed and then crawls out himself. Outside of their room, they are faced with two directions. The couple could go left, which would lead them into the small room that was visible from within their prison, or they could go right down a long hallway that hasodd  purple and pink lighting within it. Quickly, underneath the blaring of sirens that has begun, the two start to sprint down the hall.

 

Baekhyun hears other footsteps behind him, but he can’t turn to see who has followed. Kyungsoo’s demands of never looking back echo in his brain and he runs and runs past many doors and different turns.

 

The two make it a lot longer before they face their first opponent. The men that once followed them have since taken different paths, so it is only Baekhyun and Chanyeol that face a woman standing within a hallway that they were just about to turn onto.

 

Without a second thought, Chanyeol simply throws a fire ball at her dress, lighting the woman up in a storm of red and orange as he drags Baekhyun along.

 

“How do you think we’ll get out of here?” Baekhyun screams as the two run faster and faster.

 

Chanyeol just shakes his head as he powers on down the endless corridor. “I have _no_ idea. Just keep going.”  


Soon however, their running turns to jogging, and then their jogging into walking. There is no sign of any other woman or any member of the group as far as Baekhyun’s eyes can see.

 

“Do you think this was _useless?”_ Baekhyun mutters as he walks next to Chanyeol, whose strides are so large that Baekhyun almost has to _jog_ to keep up.

 

Chanyeol sighs. “Now isn’t the time for that. Just keep a determined mind. We can do it.”

 

Baekhyun only nods along, quite unsure if what Chanyeol says is true or not.

 

After a while, Baekhyun catches a glimpse of white pants turning left onto a hallway in front of himself and Chanyeol.

 

“Look!” he screams as he starts to run again, his heart squealing in joy at the thought of seeing one of his friends.

 

And, sure enough, it’s Yixing, Jongin, Jongdae, Junmyeon, and the man with no name.

 

“Hey!” Baekhyun exclaims as he immediately latches onto Junmyeon, whose body is warm and loving just as it always has been.

 

“Where’s Sehun and Kyungsoo?” asks Chanyeol, who must have followed Baekhyun down to the group.

 

Immediately, Baekhyun feels tension in the air. He pulls away from Junmyeon to look around, and sure enough, Yixing, Jongin, Jongdae, and the man with no name have very sad faces on.

 

“Kyungsoo went by himself,” Junmyeon mutters as he rubs Baekhyun’s back with the palm of his small hand. “But Sehun…we lost him. We ran into a few of those women, and they just shot him on the _spot for_ no reason. Me and Jongdae took them out after that, obviously, but they still got him.”  
  
That’s when Baekhyun notices the red stains all over Junmyeon and Jongin’s hands and shirts and the depressed and unfocused look that Jongin’s eyes carry.

 

Baekhyun feels himself completely break on the spot as he begins to sob into Junmyeon’s chest. Why _Sehun?_ Why the group’s baby, the group’s small pet? Why the boy that could never keep tears out of his eyes for long? Why the boy with a bright smile and an even _brighter_ personality? Why _Oh Sehun?_

 

“Come on,” Junmyeon mumbles as he pulls away from Baekhyun and wipes his tears away. “We have to keep going or they’ll just catch up.”

 

The group continues to move forward, their steps now slow and full of grief and woe. There is no speaking or even any eye contact. It’s as if this is Sehun’s funeral. This is where his family shall mourn him and remember everything he was. He was not only a man that was stronger than anyone else among the nine men, but also a man that _deserved_ to get out of here. He deserved to continue his life, but now happier and reborn. But, it seems as though the universe has never and _will_ never care about what anyone deserves or doesn’t deserve.

 

“Hey,” the man with no name says after a while, “how long do you think we’ve been walking?”

 

Junmyeon shrugs. “Probably a few hours. Why?”

 

The man with no name grips Jongdae’s hand as he speaks. “Maybe we should _rest._ I mean, we aren’t in the best state anyway. I’ve been looking, and half of these rooms are empty; let’s take a break in one.”  


Despite everyone’s desperation to just _leave_ this place, they all end up agreeing to the man’s proposal and choose the next door on their right to enter and take seats on the floor.

 

Baekhyun sinks down to the ground, his heart in complete pieces and his feet thumping with pain. Chanyeol sits next to him, grabbing onto his lover’s hand as he does.

 

“How do you feel?” he asks.

 

Baekhyun shrugs as he nestles his head in Chanyeol’s wide shoulder. “I’m tired, and the fact that Sehun’s really _gone_ hasn’t even hit me yet. And, how are we supposed to know if Kyungsoo is okay?”

 

Chanyeol shushes him as he starts to run a hand up and down Baekhyun’s thigh. “It’s okay, babe. I know how upset you are, but you just have to stay strong, okay? I _promise_ it’ll all be okay.”

 

That’s when Baekhyun hears a song softly start from the other side of the room. He looks up to see that the man with no name has started to sing. His voice is strong and powerful yet so subtle at the same time, like the taste of peppermints candies. He seems to radiate light as if he is the sun as he sings a song that sounds like a made-up lullaby.

 

As he sings, Baekhyun cuddles up with Chanyeol and lets himself relax. He watches as Jongdae lays his head in the man with no name’s lap as he sings, and as Junmyeon allows Jongin to cry into his shoulder.

 

The soft tune floats around the new place that the group must call home for now. Its notes temporarily heal the wounds that have been created on this day, wrapping a comfort blanket around the broken hearts and distant souls.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...sorry


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi NEW CHAP EVERY DAY NOW!

“Baekhyun? Wake up, angel. We have to go now.”

 

Baekhyun peels open his eyelids to face the red pools of lava that have become his best friend. He sits up from his place on the floor, his head now pounding and his body _unbelievably_ sore. As he looks around, he forgets that two members of his family are gone, one for _good,_ and the pain of losing someone that he loves hits him harder than before.

 

“How long was I out?” Baekhyun asks the group that have already readied themselves at the door, his broken heart aching as he does. 

 

Junmyeon grins. “Maybe like twenty minutes.”  


Baekhun shakes his head playfully and grins despite his sorrowful mood as he rises to his feet and follows his friends and boyfriend out of the door and back into the hellish hallways. They all take a right, continuing in the same direction that they had been going in before they stopped.

 

As they walk, Yixing lets his magical hands repair the few wounds that were inflicted on Jongin and Jongdae during their confrontation with the women before. He, Baekhyun, and the man with no name switch back and forth with telling stories of their childhood. This seems as though it’s the only way to keep the thoughts of death and despair from corrupting their minds and to keep the deadly silence that lurks in these halls at bay.

 

“Stop,” Junmeyon commands suddenly, interrupting Baekhyun’s quite interesting story about choking on a noodle in kindergarten. “Look ahead.”  


Baekhyun freezes in place and looks up. In front of the group, there is a large, steel door.

 

“Is this like one of the doors you saw, Jongdae?” Junmyeon asks, his eyes still fixed on door as he does.

 

Jongdae nods. “Yeah. This is like one of the ones at the entrance that I remember. Do you think it leads out?”

 

Junmeyon shrugs as he starts to take baby steps towards the end of the hall. “There’s only one way to find out.”

 

The group cautiously make their way towards the large door, and Baekhyun feels oddly nauseous as they do. Once they arrive, Junmyeon takes it upon himself to pull the surprisingly unlocked door open. Inside, all that is visible is pure darkness.

 

“Baekhyun?” Jongdae asks, turning to Baekhyun as he gestures to the boy’s hands.

 

Baekhyun nods, already knowing that this is his new purpose: to light the way. He creates two large spheres of light in his palms, their yellow hue glowing brilliantly in the shadowy doorway.

 

“Chanyeol, you too,” Junmyeon says, pointing to his hands as well.

 

Soon, using Baekhyun’s hands as lamps and Chanyeol’s as candles, the group is able to light the hallway up enough for travel.

 

Inside, the walls are quite close together, forcing the group to travel in two single-file lines. There are no more side doors or turns. This hall only leads one way.

 

“How far does this thing go?” Jongin mumbles after a while, using words for the first time since Baekhyun had met up with the group.

 

His voice that was once always lively is now void of any emotion and completely and utterly dead.

 

Junmyeon shrugs as he sighs. “I have no clue, but–”

 

The man’s words are cut off by the sudden sound of loud sirens wailing above them. Then, red lights within the hall that were once invisible begin to blink wildly, and Baekhyun knows that now is not the time for any type of small talk.

 

 _“RUN!”_ Yixing screams, pushing past those in front of him and busting forward down the now dimly-lit hall.

 

Everyone follows the frantic man, running for their lives down a seemingly never-ending corridor. Baekhyun’s hands sweat, and his lungs burn as he pushes forward, the lights in his hand diminishing as he slowly loses strength.

 

After what seems like years of suffering and running until Baekhyun truly thinks that he can run no more, things somehow manage to get _worse_ when the group is abruptly stopped by two women standing their ground in the middle of the hall, the red light making their eyes look like fire as they stare the men down.

 

Baekhyun starts to panic as their eyes meet theirs; this can’t be the end of their journey, it’s only just begun.

 

“Why aren’t they like…attacking?” the man with no name breathes softly.

 

Junmyeon only shrugs his shoulders as the women simply stare the group down.

 

“Guys, keep going on around them,” Jongin declares suddenly, stepping forward from the back of the group as he does. “I got this.”  


Yixing holds him back from stepping forward to face the enemy. “Jongin, we aren’t just going to _leave you here._ Stop.”  


Jongin only tries to keep going, but this time, it’s Junmyeon who grabs him and pulls him back as the women before them stay unmoving.

 

“Don’t do this. Let us work together. Stop being stupid; you could _die,”_ Junmyeon mumbles, sounding a bit like a wise father as he speaks.

 

Jongin suddenly whips around to face Yixing and Junmyeon, his eyes now alight with an almost indescribable fury. “Do you think I _care_ about life and death anymore? Now that he’s gone, I don’t even see a _point_ in getting out of here. _Fuck it_. Let me go!”

 

Something in the man’s voice makes Baekhyun want to cry. Jongin has never seemed so pained or so weak since he’s been here. The man that somehow always managed to stay calm and unbothered, even on the _first day,_ has finally reached his breaking point. He lost the person that somehow made life worth living, so he now sees no point in moving forward. Baekhyun’s heart aches for the man who had always spoken so positively of fried chicken and smiled so brightly as he steps forward, Baekhyun’s eyes catching their last glimpse at Jongin’s handsome face before Chanyeol begins to drag him forward and past the two women, who pay no mind to the passing men. He doesn’t even bother looking back as he forces himself to keep moving, Jongin’s smile shining in his mind as the sound of his merry laughter from times long gone echoes within Baekhyun’s ears.

 

As the group sprints forward, Baekhyun can hear the awful sound of male screams and many punches and bangs, and he knows what the outcome of this battle shall be.

 

Yet another person that deserved so much better is now gone forever.

 

 

 

 

 

At the end of the hallway, there is only another steel door, which only opens up into _another_ endless hallway. At this point, Baekhyun truly _is_ starting to feel as if this was all for nothing.

 

“Should we stop again?” Jongdae asks as he lazily plays with the man with no name’s fingers, which are entwined with his. “We can just sit in the hall somewhere.”  
  
Junmyeon, who has been very distant and tearful since Jongin sacrificed himself, only shakes his head in response. So, the group just powers on.

 

Baekhyun loses himself in his own thoughts and memories as he walks and walks. The sirens have ceased their ringing, and the red lights have stopped flashing. So, there is only silence now as Baekhyun thinks back into the past.

 

The death of Jongin has just made the already horrible situation worse, and he’s starting to lose all hope as tears constantly stream down his face. So, to keep his sanity from totally slipping, he recalls the best days of his life and relishes in that old happiness, these memories keeping his hopes high and his feet moving.

                                                                                       

He thinks of his best friends back home and how much he adored their company, even if they didn’t really know the _real_ Byun Baekhyun. He thinks of Chanyeol’s soft touch on his face and the sweet smell of pine on Christmas Day. He feels his older sister, his only family member that he believes cares about him in any way, ruffling up his hair and his favorite teacher giving him a warm hug on the last day of school.

 

All of these things make Baekhyun realize that it is indeed worth it to try, to push through this endless hell. It’s worth it to keep going, not only for his own sake, but for others as well. He tells himself that giving up is _not_ an option as his feet ache beneath him and his limbs start to feel extremely heavy.

 

“Guys, look!” The man with no name yells as a grin spreads across his face. “Another hall!”

 

He runs up ahead of the group and turns to the left, where there is indeed another hall.

 

“Should we turn?” Baekhyun asks, looking up at Junmyeon as he does.

 

The leader shrugs, his eyes still seeming dead and void of any type of feeling. “It’s worth a shot, but I doubt it’ll be any different than this.”

 

The man with no name groans and turns around in the doorway of the turn, his back now facing the empty hall behind him as he stares down the men before him.

 

“Would you stop being so _negative?_ God, I know we’re all beyond upset because we just lost two members of our _family,_ but we still have to go on.”  


“Yeah, I’ve been trying to tell myself that, but it’s not working,” Chanyeol grumbles negatively.

 

The man with no name sighs as his expression immediately softens. “Look. I know we’re all just about at our breaking points, buy we can _do this._ We have to get out of here and make our lives the best that they can be, not for ourselves, but for _them._ That’s what they would have wanted. They would want us to be-”

 

The man is abruptly cut off by a sound that Baekhyun has only ever heard in movies. It’s a sound that everyone knows means danger, that means terror, that means _death._ It’s a loud, horrifying _bang!_  and Baekhyun knows _exactly_ what it is.

 

And, as he witnesses a brilliant red stain start to blossom in the man with no name’s chest like a grand rose, Baekhyun can’t help but start to scream as he runs over to help his friend.

 

“Where is she? Where is that _bitch?”_ Junmyeon screams, searching everywhere to try and find the woman who may have shot the man with no name for no apparent reason. “Show yourself! Come out here and _fight!_ Where are you?”

 

However, despite Junmyeon’s screams and desperate searching, no one comes into sight, So, everyone just crouches down beside of the man with no name, who is struggling for breath as he grips Jongdae’s hand.

 

“It’ll be okay, my love,” Jongdae whispers through tears as he presses his hands to the man’s face. “You’ll be okay. It’s all okay.”   
  
The man only stares up at his lover, his eyes unfocused and his skin sickly pale. He stays like this for a moment, just staring and gasping as blood pours from his mouth and runs down his jaw. Then, suddenly, he starts to gasp and pulls Jongdae closer as his eyes widen.

Jongdae leans in, as well as Baekhyun, whose already broken heart is currently being crushed into even small pieces.

 

“What is it?” Jongdae asks as he breathes heavily and wipes tears away. “What is it, my angel?”

 

The man gasps as he latches one hand onto Jongdae’s jacket and another onto Baekhyun’s as if to try and keep them there even though it is evident that no one is going anywhere anytime soon. Baekhyun feels the need to vomit as the feeling of thick, warm blood on his hands overcomes him, but he keeps himself focused as the man with no name begins to fade away before his very eyes.

 

“My name…,” the injured man breathes, using his last bits of strength to give out one final statement, to leave one last mark on this world.

 

“What?” Baekhyun asks as tears falls onto his lips.

 

“My _name…,”_ the man repeats again, gripping onto Baekhyun as if he’s his tether to the living realm.

 

“What is it, baby?” Jongdae asks, pressing his hands to the man’s cheeks again. “I don’t…I don’t know your name.”

 

“My name,” the man gasps as his head falls back and he takes one final breath, “is _Minseok.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im so sorry-


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay first of all i just wanna say: if you're not into sad shit im sorry? but that's what this is gonna be. i just like sad and that's the way i like it to be. so if you just wanna give up on this and leave now, that's cool, but i'd like it if you'd all stick with me despite how bad ur feelings hurt

At this point, life doesn’t even seem _real_ to Baekhyun anymore.

 

As he sits, his head lying on Chanyeol’s shoulder and his eyes watching as Jongdae carefully drapes his coat over Minseok’s dead body, nothing seems as though it’s reality. All of this seems like a bad dream that Baekhyun just cannot _wait_ to wake up from.  

 

After the man with no name, who is no referred to as “Minseok” finally passed away, Junmyeon and Yixing had found another empty room down the newly discovered hallway. They had all taken refuge inside to mourn their many loses and collect themselves for the rest of the journey.  

 

As much as Baekhyun hates to admit it, it seems as though Minseok’s death has affected him more than Sehun’s and Jongin’s deaths had. The first two had just made him angry, furious with how the world could be so _cruel._ But this loss just makes him go completely numb.

 

Perhaps it’s because of everything that Minseok had done for Baekhyun in the short time that he’d known him. Despite having absolutely no reason to, the man had been there to pull Baekhyun up when he hit the ground and teach him the way to think positively. He was a little angel in this hell, and the fact that the angel has fallen is just _unreal_ to Baekhyun.

 

It’s strange how much can change in just a short moment. The man that was once singing softly to soothe his cherished friends is now gone forever, and it’s barely been a day. In a flash, he was gone for good, and Baekhyun is having trouble realizing that, when he looks up, the ever-so-happy man will not be sitting across from him with a smile on his face.

 

But, he knows that, no matter _how_ upset he may be, his pain is _nothing_ compared to Jongdae’s. He’s been beside of Minseok’s body since it fell to the floor back in that hallway, tightly holding him in his arms as if it’s impossible to let go. He doesn’t even cry, but instead mumbles to himself and into the ear of the shell that once held his soul mate. Baekhyun finds it both upsetting and _strange._ Jongdae is the type of person you’d see in a _mental hospital,_ randomly speaking to himself as he slightly rocks back and forth. However, no one makes any efforts to put an end to his odd behavior; perhaps it’s what he needs in order to heal.

Baekhyun doesn’t know _exactly_ how much time he, Chanyeol, Yixing, Junmyeon, and the lost soul that is now Jongdae spend inside of the room, just staring blankly at walls as their hearts scream in pain, but he knows it’s been quite a while by the time Junmyeon finally stands.

 

“We should go now.”

 

“I have to say something first,” Chanyeol says, his voice a low growl as he carefully pushes Baekhyun out of his lap and rises to his feet.

 

“What the _hell_ is going on? You’d think that they would all be rushing to get us back to the room so we don’t escape, but there’s barely been _anyone_ around to stop us from moving forward. And, why do they just stand in front of us and _wait?_ Why do they just come up and shoot random people in the back and then disappear without a trace like assassins? There’s something _fucked up_ going on, and I’m _really_ wanting to know what it is,” the tall man screams as his eyes seem to light up with the same flames that reside beneath the skin of his palms.

 

“I have no clue what’s going on, so calm down. I get that you’re upset, but don’t be yelling at anyone else just because of that,” Junmyeon replies, his voice monotone and completely void of any emotion as he opens the door and gestures for all to follow. “Now, let’s keep moving. Maybe we’ll find a way out soon or something,”

 

Jongdae takes a moment to say goodbye to Minseok’s body, giving the cold, dead skin a soft kiss before turning his back on the one he loves forever. Baekhyun finds it difficult to just leave Minseok lying on the group, crumpled up beneath a blood-stained jacket. He feels a pang of guilt as he takes one last glance at the man’s shaggy, dirty-blonde hair. Though Baekhyun knows that there is nothing in the world that he could have done to prolong Minseok’s amount of time on this Earth, he still feels the urge to beat himself up over the fact that the man is now dead. However, despite the atrocious pain within his chest, Baekhyun steps outside of the room, leaving one of the best people that he’s ever met behind forever.

 

At the end of the hallway, it turns out that there is _indeed_ a way out of these endless corridors. There is a wooden door that, when opened, leads to a large staircase that winds up and up as far as Baekhyun can see.

 

 _“Great,”_ Chanyeol mumbles sarcastically as the group starts up the stairs, “now it’s _stairs.”_  
  


After only a few flights does Baekhyun feel the sudden, unbelievably strong urge to just _give up._ Each step is painful, and each minute that passes is even _worse._ His broken heart tortures him, the images of Minseok struggling for breath still fresh behind his eyelids.

 

“Are you okay, Baekhyun?” Junmyeon asks suddenly as Baekhyun stares down at his feet.

 

Baekyun looks up at the man who looks just as tired as Baekhyun _feels._

“Yeah, I guess. Why?”

 

Junmyeon shrugs as he continues up the stairs. “You keep just keep stumbling.”

 

Baekhyun just waves him off as he steadily continues, his feet unsure and his vision cloudy. Then, after only a few more moments, the sound of a pain-filled scream echoes across the staircase and is followed by a loud thump.

 

Baekhyun turns to look farther down the stairs, where Jongdae has fell to his knees as tears stream down his face. Finally, reality has hit him, and Baekhyun can hear the suffering in the screams that escape his lips as he buries his face in his hands.

 

Junmyeon, being the ever-so-supportive leader that he is, pushes past Baekhyun and makes his way down to Jongdae, cradling him in his arms like a small child as the heartbroken man wails into his leader’s sleeve.

 

“It’s okay,” Junmyeon whispers as he shushes Jongdae and pats his head. “I promise you’ll be okay. You’ll be okay.”

 

Jongdae shakes his head, his voice thick with tears as he speaks. “No, I WON’T. I told him it would be okay, but now, look! H-He’s… _g-gone!_ I can’t do this without him! _”_

“Yes, you can. I swear, you can.”  
  
“How can I? I don’t even know what to do with myself now, I _need_ him!”

Junmyeon doesn’t reply, for there is only so much that may be said for one that is grieving the loss of a loved one. It’s the type of pain that may never be shushed away by soft voices. It’s a type of pure suffering that Baekhyun would never wish on his worst enemy, the kind that eats one alive until there is nothing left at all.

 

 

 

“Hey, look!” Yixing pipes up after the hours of silent stair climbing that followed Jongdae’s breakdown. “I think we’re almost at the top.”  
  
Baekhyun looks up quickly, the sudden movement causing a wave of nausea to flow through his body. But, he does feel a quick flash of excitement when he sees a landing close above with yet another steel door next to it. He never thought that he’d be so happy to see one of those stupid doors.

 

Before this, he had felt as though he was trapped in an endless loop of boring, tiring travel: walk, find a door, walk some more. But now, he feels more determined; maybe this door leads to something better than before, to something that can offer some sort of hope for the discouraged band of super-humans.

 

“Thank _god,”_ Junmyeon mumbles as he begins to climb faster, “I thought these things would never end.”

 

Once the group reaches the top, they find that the next door only opens up to a hallway just like the ones they wandered in before, except this one is very well lit with blinding white light and smells faintly of rubbing alcohol.

 

“I really don’t like this,” Yixing murmurs as the group stumble through the hall. “This feels like a _hospital.”_  


“Do you see that?” Junmyeon whispers as he points down the hall. “There’s a big metal door over there, but it’s got a _window_ on it and light’s coming out.”  


Quickly, everyone races to the end, using the last bit of their strength to push forward to the end. The heavy door creaks open to reveal a room almost identical to the one that the group was held in when they first woke up.

 

There are mirrors everywhere and beds with tables and infusion pumps. Seeing the room immediately brings tears to Baekhyun’s eyes, for even though this isn’t the same room that he was held in (he knows this due to the fact that there is a second door at the other end), it still reminds him of the wonderful times full of smiling and love spent inside of walls like these, of the times when their family was united as _one._ It reminds him of the initial fear of this place and the beautiful joy that followed. Once again, Jongin’s laughter rings in his ears. Sehun’s shy smile glows in his mind. Minseok’s inspiring words echo in his heart. These are things that he may never get back, and the room only reminds him of this fact once again. 

 

Baekhyun immediately feels the urge to leave this room. He doesn’t know how he could stay in here with all of those memories coming back to him at once to haunt him like an angry spirit. He’s been trying to forget, all least for a little while, just so that he may continue with a strong heart. But this? This just brings it all back full force and leaves him weaker than ever.

 

“Should we rest here? This would be a good place to take a break,” Yixing breathes as he rests his hand on a bed close to him.

 

Baekhyun feels the need to deny this request, for this place makes his soul cry out in anguish, but he doesn’t take it upon himself to speak up, just as he always has.

 

Junmyeon groans as he runs a tiny hand through his hair. “I don’t know, Yixing. They could find us _very_ easily here, you know. We’d just be walking right into a trap.”

 

Baekhyun almost _grins_ at these words, more than ready to continue on and away from these soft beds and eerie mirrors.   


“For _God’s sake!”_ Chanyeol roars as he suddenly pushes over a metal table in anger, the action causing Baekhyun’s heart to race.

 

Baekhyun takes a few steps away from the red-headed man as he begins to scream, his hopes of leaving long gone as he does.

 

“Junmyeon, I really _did_ think you were a smart guy at first, but now? You’re making yourself out to be a complete _FOOL!_ THEY OBVIOUSLY KNOW WHERE WE ARE AND WHAT WE’RE DOING AT _ALL TIMES._ DO YOU THINK THAT THEY HAVEN’T HAD CAMERAS WATCHING US THIS _WHOLE TIME?_ THEY’VE SEEN EVERY LITTLE THING WE’VE DONE SINCE THE MOMENT WE WOKE UP. THEY PROBABLY KNEW ABOUT THE _BREAK OUT,_ FOR FUCK’S SAKE! ALL THEY’RE DOING NOW IS JUST _MESSING_ WITH US! THIS IS ALL PART OF THEIR _PLAN!_ SO JUST SIT THE FUCK DOWN AND SHUT UP. THERE IS NO AVOIDING WHAT HAS ALREADY GOT US CAPTURED.”

 

By the time the large man has finished and flopped down onto the nearest bed with an exhausted huff, Yixing has started to sob softly into a pillow. Jongdae simply seems unfazed and only takes a seat on the cold floor, immediately drifting to sleep as he does. Junmyeon just ignores Chanyeol, shaking his head wearily as he takes a seat on a bed as well. Baekhyun then cautiously makes his way over to Chanyeol, whose eyes are now closed as he rests in the same bed that would have been his back in their real room.

 

Baekhyun taps softly on the man’s shoulder, and his red eyes shoot open as he turns his head towards Baekhyun.

 

Baekhyun jumps back immediately, fear coursing through his veins. _“Please_ don’t yell at me, okay?”

 

Baekhyun had never liked people raising their voices in any way, and something about Chanyeol doing it somehow makes it _so much worse._ He’s quickly learning that the soft man that takes care of him like a baby does indeed hide a hideous monster deep within the flaming pits of his soul.

 

Chanyeol leans over, grabs onto Baekhyun’s hand, and pulls him into his bed with him, his warmth immediately radiating onto Baekhyun’s body and soothing his sore muscles.

 

“I would never yell at _you,_ my baby,” Chanyeol mutters sleepily into Baekhyun’s hair.

 

Baekhyun lets out a deep breath as he pitifully cuddles up in Chanyeol’s arms. “Well, why’d you yell at _them?”_

Chanyeol sighs as he starts to rub Baekhyun’s shoulders, sending the smaller boy into complete _heaven_ as huge amounts of tension are released from his body.

 

“I’m sorry. I was just upset, and I’m mad, too. I’m mad because we aren’t getting anywhere and because we lost our friends to those bitches. I’m just sick of being in this _place,_ you know?”

 

Baekhyun nods because he truly _does_ know how Chanyeol is feeling. At this point, there’s nothing that he wouldn’t give to get out of this prison.

 

“I won’t yell anymore; I really am sorry. I never want you to be scared of me again, okay?” Chanyeol continues as he runs his large hands over Baekhyun’s chest, making the boy feel warm and secure.

 

Baekhyun giggles and sighs. “What makes you think I was _scared?”_  
  


“Well, considering the fact that you jumped thirty feet in the air when I barely _looked_ at you, I’d assume you were a bit freaked,” Chanyeol murmurs lazily.

 

“Well, you’re right,” Baekhyun says as the amount of comfort that he’s in allows him to start to doze off. “You’re _scary_ when you’re mad.”

 

 

 

 

 _“WAKE UP! WAKE UP NOW!”_  
  


Baekhyun bolts up from the bed that he shares with his lover, his heart feeling near _busting_ as he looks about the room frantically. The amount of times that he’s been woken up like this is unreal, and he’s just about at his wits end.

 

His eyes land onJunmyeon is standing in the middle of the room with tears streaming down his face as he shrieks again and again.  

 

“What’s going on?” Baekhyun asks as he jumps to his feet and runs over to Junmyeon and pulls him into his arms. “Are you okay?”

 

Junmyeon sobs into Baekhyun’s shoulder, his body shaking uncontrollably as he attempts to speak.

 

“I-I woke up, and J-J-Jongdae…h-he’s _g-g-gone,”_ Junmyeon cries as he points to the floor behind him.

 

And, sure enough, Jongdae seems to have disappeared without a trace. Baekhyun looks around frantically, his mind in a state of panic as he holds the sobbing leader in his arms.

 

Then, there is more screaming. Only this time, it’s louder and more _pain-filled_ than the shouts from before.

 

Baekhyun whips around to look towards the side of the room where the second door stands. The door is now open, and Yixing stands in the doorway, his head angled downwards as he stares down at the floor and screams bloody murder.

 

Baekhyun lets go of Junmyeon and quickly follows Chanyeol as he races over to the door. Chanyeol gently pushes a now basically _hyperventilating_ Yixing out of the way, and Baekhyun immediately wishes that he wouldn’t have.

 

Laying in the doorway is a single body. It is quite clear that many bones have been broken due to the odd placement and shape of its limbs, and the familiar face is bruised and bloody beyond belief.

 

The large eyes that stare up at Baekhyun are those are Do Kyungsoo, the quiet boy that was known for being the biggest theatre nerd in the whole school.

 

And then, just as Baekhyun is able to process what he’s seeing, a voice starts to speak from some sort of invisible intercom above his head, the robotic tone making his head immediately begin to ache as he sobs uncontrollably and drops to his knees.

 

_“Hello! You have made it so far! We are so proud! But keep moving! Danger is coming soon, boys!”_

“Oh, _hell no!”_ Junmyeon yells immediately as he pushes past the group in the doorway, stepping over Kyungsoo’s body without another thought as he starts to make his way down the hallway ahead of him. “I’m not doing this anymore! You were right, Chanyeol. They’re just _fucking_ with us!”

 

“What about _Jongdae?”_ Chanyeol screams at the leader.

 

Junmyeon turns around as he replies. “They probably took him, too! We don’t have _time_ to worry about that! Come on! We have to get out of here!”  
  
Chanyeol starts to yell back, but Baekhyun tunes him out as he rises to his feet to talk to Yixing, who is shaking as he stares blankly at his feet.

 

“Are you alright?” Baekhyun asks, even though there’s _no way_ that Yixing could be _alright._

 

Yixing shakes his head and replies in a bland voice: “I wish I was still _blind.”_

 

 _“Hey,”_ Baekhyun says sympathetically, his voice thick with tears and his throat sore from the sobbing as he lays a hand on his friend’s shoulder, “don’t think like that. Your sight is a _gift,_ Yixing.”  


Yixing shakes his head immediately as he falls back onto a bed. “I can’t do this anymore. I was already lost enough without knowing where he was, but now he’s…”  


The man trails off as he begins to cry, and Baekhyun joins him in his tear-filled fit, for there’s nothing left to do but let the tears fall at this point. Fuck being strong; there’s no point now.

 

 _“JUNMYEON WATCH OUT!”_ Chanyeol suddenly roars from the doorway.

 

Baekhyun immediately jumps up to look out the door once more, and the events that occur down the hall seem to happen in slow motion.

 

A woman has appeared in the corridor, and she now has Junmyeon in a chokehold, her thin arms wrapped around his neck as Chanyeol begins to race towards them and Junmyeon struggles in vain for air. Baekhyun immediately begins to follow Chanyeol, who has begun to let massive balls of fire shoot from his hands and down the hall. Once the flames hit the woman, she begins to scream as she lets a now gasping Junmyeon drop to the ground as she tries to extinguish herself. Chanyeol and Baekhyun keep running, Baekhyun towards Junmyeon and Chanyeol towards his target with more fire in hand.

 

Once Baekhyun reaches his precious best friend, he realizes that things are much worse than what he would have assumed. As he stares down at Junmyeon, who is screaming in agony as he cradles his left arm, he sees that Chanyeol’s fire not only engulfed the enemy, but the one that he was trying to save as well. The man’s jacket has been burned away to reveal skin that is a deep, disgusting red in some places and a terrifying black in others. Many layers have been burned away, and Junmyeon’s face tells Baekhyun just _how much_ pain he is in.

 

From his side, he hears a struggle with Chanyeol and the woman, but pays no attention. His whole mind is focused on the man who has now gone into shock, his face pale as he stares up into the ceiling.

 

“Junmyeon? Can you hear me?”

 

Junmyeon nods as he swallows and gasps for air, his eyes wide as he grips onto Baekhyun’s arm with his good hand.

 

Soon, the piercing sound of female screaming echoes through the hall, and Chanyeol drops down beside of Baekhyun as he breathes heavily. The sickening smell of burning flesh that follows the death of the woman soon finds a way to finally upset Baekhyun’s stomach, and he finds himself vomiting on the floor of the corridor as Chanyeol apologizes over and over to Junmyeon, who softly insists that it’s okay, that he’ll live.

 

Once Baekhyun is finished, he crawls back to Junmyeon, who has begun to cry a little.

 

“We need to wrap it up,” Chanyeol mutters through guilt-filled tears. “Usually, with a burn of this degree, I wouldn’t do anything to it. You’re supposed to just go to the hospital, but we’ve got no other option. I’m just going to very lightly cover it so that we can get somewhere better to rest.

 

He immediately sheds his jacket, and Baekhyun goes to rip of the parts of Junmyeon’s jacket that are stuck to the burn, but is stopped by Chanyeol’s hand on his wrist.

 

He looks up to see Chanyeol’s eyes glaring down at him seriously. “Don’t do that. You could make things worse for him.”

 

So, Baekhyun simply tears away parts of the jacket near the arm that aren’t burned to a crisp and then removes the rest of the white fabric from his body. Chanyeol quickly separates the thick fabric of his own jacket into large pieces using tiny flames from his fingertips and wraps some of it around the wound, which causes Junmyeon to scream louder than he ever has before.

 

“Shh,” Baekhyun mumurs as he brushes hair of Junmyeon’s face, “We have to do this, okay?”  


Soon, the wound has been wrapped as well as it can be in a place like this, and Chanyeol goes to collect Yixing, who is still an emotional wreck from the discovery of Kyungsoo’s body.

  
“We’re not supposed to let him walk around,” Chanyeol says with a sigh, “but we’ve got no other choice. Let’s just hope for the best.”

 

Together, all of three of them help Junmyeon to keep moving forward, and even through all of his pain, he still manages to be just as determined as he was before.

 

Once a leader, always a leader.

 


	18. Chapter 18

“What do you think that lady meant?” Chanyeol mutters quietly, shattering the great glass wall of silence that has been built between the three men as they walk, still assisting a terribly burnt and ready to collapse Junmyeon.

 

Baekhyun shrugs. “Well, we know what the danger part meant, and I assume you were right about them just watching us as we run around for no reason. Maybe that’s why all of the doors are unlocked and stuff. Maybe we’re just a few _rats_ in a maze.”

 

Chanyeol sighs as he closes his eyes, looking effortlessly peaceful even in a time like this. “I miss being in our _room._ I thought that things would improve when we got out, but everyone has just been going down left and right. It’s a complete _bloodbath_. Plus, I never even got to say anything else to Kyungsoo, and we have no clue where Jongdae even _is.”_

 

As he says this, his voice cracks as tears fall down his cheeks. Baekhyun starts to cry as well, and not just for Jongdae and Kyungsoo, but for his _whole_ _family,_ the dead and the living. Everyone is suffering in one way another, whether it’s on this Earth or in another world. Baekhyun has lost almost all of the people that made him happy, that completed his life. These women, these _demons,_ just keep stealing from him, and he’s past the point of controlling his emotions.

 

 

 

 

“Yixing,” Chanyeol murmurs as he stares down at Junmyeon, who is now passed out cold as the group sit in the hallway to rest.

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Do you think that you could help Junmyeon, like with your powers?”

 

Baekhyun gasps as he stares down at Junmyeon’s arm. He hadn’t thought of that this whole time. He hadn’t thought of that when Minseok had been shot or when Junmyeon had been burned; no one had.

 

“Oh my _god,”_ Yixing murmurs as he starts to sob. “Do you think I could have helped Minseok, too, couldn’t I?”

 

Baekhyun can hear the heartbreak in his voice, and the silence that follows his question speaks for itself. No one knows if Yixing could have saved Minseok’s life; they had all been too shocked to think of Yixing’s magical hands. So, there is no escape from the guilt that he must feel now.

 

“It doesn’t matter right now,” Chanyeol says as he grabs onto a shocked Yixing. “It’s okay. Just try with Junmyeon, please? These burns could kill him.”

 

Yixing nods as he quickly wipes his guilty tears away and crawls over to Junmyeon, unwrapping his arm once he arrives his side. He touches his delicate hands to Junmyeon’s terribly injured skin and starts to put all of his energy into trying to help his friend, his eyes shut tight as a bead of sweat runs down his forehead.

 

Finally, Yixing lets out a deep breath and falls back onto his side, exposing Junmyeon’s still red and irritated arm.

 

“I can’t do it.”

 

“Why?” Baekhyun asks softly as his eyes start to prick with tears; he had been so full of hope.

 

Yixing shakes his head as he starts to sob again. “I just _can’t!_ I can’t focus enough my mind is too…I DON’T KNOW I JUST CAN’T DO IT!”

 

As Yixing screams, Baekhyun pulls him into a hug and shushes him carefully, letting the broken boy sob into Baekhyun’s shoulder.

 

“It’s okay,” Baekhyun mumbles as Chanyeol begins to wrap Junmyeon’s arm up once more, for all hope of healing him is long gone.

 

They should have known that, by this point, Yixing completely lacks the strength to use his powers.

 

“I’m so sorry,” Yixing cries as he runs his hands through his hair. “I wish I could help him! I wish I could have saved Minseok! I wish I wasn’t so _useless!”_

 

“You’re not useless,” Baekhyun whispers as he shushes his friend. “It’s not your fault, Yixing. It’s not your fault.”  


 

After a few more moments of heartbroken silence, Yixing, Baekhyun, and Chanyeol, finally decide that sitting in an empty hallway is no better than moving forward, so after picking up the still sleeping Junmyeon, the group sets off into the next part of their journey.

 

Nothing of significance happens for quite some time. They don’t speak at all, and there are no more turns in this hallway. They only take turns carrying Junmyeon as they weakly trudge along. They come upon a few flights of stairs that they climb with no questions asked, their minds too numb to complain. They rest at times and then continue on once more, as if this is a trip through the mountains and not an escape mission.

 

Baekhyun doesn’t even process the deaths of Kyungsoo and Jongdae (who is only _assumed_ dead, but is most likely never returning). He doesn’t want to feel more pain or let anymore heartbreak control his mind. He just wants to keep going, to get out of this place before he finally gives up.

 

However, after what Junmyeon would have probably estimated as two or three days after the initial breakout if he was awake, windows begin to pop up along the hallway walls. Outside of them, only walls of dirt and rock are visible, but it is the outside world nonetheless. This gets a loud gasp from Baekhyun, who hasn’t been this happy in days.

 

“Chanyeol,” Baekhyun says loudly with a grin, “I think we’re getting closer!”  


Chanyeol only nods as he keeps walking. The group is now nearing another staircase, and Baekhyun is more excited than _ever_ to be moving up. And, to his delight, the dirt outside of the glass becomes less rocky, looks darker, and has some roots within it as they climb and climb. The surface is so close.

 

Soon, however, the windows disappear again, but now, the walls are painted a soothing baby blue, and the doors at the ends of halls are made of polished, white wood, making the place look much friendlier than it truly is.

 

“How far do you think we are away from the surface?” Yixing mumbles as he lets his fingertips run across the walls.

 

Chanyeol shrugs. “Not too far, I suppose. Let’s just keep going.”  


After _plenty_ of more stairs and maze-like hallways, the three reach a polished white door with a window at the top, and this time, it doesn’t open up into a new hall. Instead, they are faced with a strange, lobby-like room with fluffy chairs, a few vending machines, and a desk with a telephone and flowers on top of it.

 

“We really _are_ in a hospital now,” Yixing mutters as he immediately takes a seat in one of the chairs. The man groans as he sinks into the red fabric. “Guys, these are _really_ nice. Sit down.”  


So, unwilling to deny a nice place to rest, Baekhyun sets Junmyeon in a chair and then sinks down into a cloud-like chair as well. The four relax there like that for a while, just letting the seats pull their bodies further and further in. They don’t even bother to think about getting caught or trying to escape. At this point, they are all too mentally and physically drained to even _care._

 

Junmyeon wakes up after a bit and asks a few questions about where he is and what happened, which Baekhyun answers with the brightest smile that he can muster. Then, however, it’s time to check Junmyeon’s wounds again.

 

As Chanyeol removes the makeshift bandages, the leader lets out a gut-wrenching cry of pain, and Yixing and Baekhyun are ever-so-quick to comfort him.

 

Chanyeol sighs upon seeing Junmyeon’s arm, which now somehow looks even worse, with the charred bits now peeling back to reveal deeper layers of skin. The burn stretches from the edge of Junmyeon’s hand to his elbow, with most parts being bright red and a little white, while the parts near the middle are blackened.

 

“I’m surprised you can still _feel_ this,” Chanyeol mutters to Junmyeon as he carefully studies the injury. “Usually, with burns like this, the nerves are damaged and the area just goes numb. We have to watch it really carefully; it’ll get infected soon unless I… _wait.”_

 

Chanyeol’s eyes light up as something clicks within his brain.

 

“Junmyeon, do you think you still have the strength to use your water?”

 

There’s another thing that Baekhyun had never thought of. Things have been moving too fast to think about powers.

 

Junmyeon nods and immediately forms a flowing ball of water within his palm.

 

Chanyeol grins as he nods excitedly. “Okay, good. I hadn’t even thought of that. We have to cool this down so it’ll cause less damage. Just like…I don’t know…pour it on your arm or something.”

 

Junmyeon groans as he lets the water fall onto the ground beside of his seat. “That’s gonna hurt like _shit,_ man.”

 

Chanyeol grimaces as he nods sadly. “I know, it will, but we have to keep you safe. So please do it. Please?”

 

Junmyeon sighs and looks as though he’d rather be doing anything else in the world, but obliges nonetheless. Baekhyun covers his ears as the water reaches the burn, trying his hardest to block out Junmyeon’s cries of pain.

 

Finally, when it’s over with, Baekhyun uncovers his ears to hear Chanyeol speak.

 

“I’m sorry I did this. Please just get some rest, okay?”  


Junmyeon waves him off with his good hand while he shouts in pain as Chanyeol begins to put the light bandage on his arm again. Baekhyun, to avoid looking as nervous as he feels, plasters on a confident smile.

 

“How are you feeling?” he asks his friend.

 

Junmyeon only shrugs and rolls his eyes, too weak to respond with words.

 

The burned man then falls back into another pain-induced sleep, and Yixing stays quiet, only staring at the wall as he silently lets tears drop down onto the arm of his chair. Chanyeol and Baekhyun sit together on the floor, Baekhyun resting his head on his lover’s shoulder as the large man whispers to him.

 

“I feel so bad. I did that to him. _Me._ _I_ did it. He could _die,_ you know.”

 

Baekhyun pats his baby on the back softly. “I know you’re upset, but it’s not like you did it on _purpose._ You were just trying to help him, Chanyeol.”

 

Chanyeol sighs as he lifts Baekhyun’s head off of his shoulder to look him in the eyes. “What did I do to deserve someone like you?”

 

Baekhyun grins as he blushes subtly. “I have no clue. Oh, by the way, I have a question.”

 

Chanyeol rolls his eyes playfully. “Ask away.”

 

“How do you know so much about all of this medical stuff? I never knew that you had this kind of knowledge.”  
  
“That’s because I don’t like to show it off,” Chanyeol replies with a chuckle, “I got all of this stuff from my aunt; she’s a doctor. She’s taught me a lot. For instance, when I got taken by the women, I always dodged their knives in the right ways so that they wouldn’t hit arteries or cut me too deep. My aunt taught me a lot, so much that it’s saved my life a lot of the time.”

 

Baekhyun grins at this. Something about hearing about Chanyeol’s life back home fills him with an indescribable sense of happiness. Seeing the excitement in his boyfriend’s eyes as he describes the things from a better time makes him want to squeal in joy.

 

“I love you so much,” Baekhyun mumbles as he cuddles up closer to Chanyeol. “So much more than you’ll ever know.”

 

Chanyeol scoffs. “You’re so cheesy; I love it. I love _you,_ and I’m so glad that, even though I’m going through all this bullshit, I still have you by my side. And that just makes it all so much more bearable.”

 

Baekhyun raises his head up again to look at Chanyeol, who has begun to cry. “I feel the same way.”

 

Then, as soon as Chanyeol begins to pull him into a teary kiss filled with heartbreak and guilt, a tiny voice speaks up from beside of them

 

“What do you think would happen if we ate that food from those machines? _”_ Yixing mumbles as he stares determinedly at the machine next to him that’s full of different types of junk food.

 

Chanyeol grins as he pulls away from Baekhyun’s lips, his face looking genuinely intrigued. “Why don’t we find out?”

“Don’t those things cost _money?”_ Baekhyun mutters as Yixing rises to his feet, wiping away tears as he steps over to the machine.

 

Yixing starts to chuckle to himself as he begins to press buttons on the machine. “Nope. These are _free.”_

 

For some reason, this detail makes Baekhyun feel oddly uncomfortable and a bit skeptical, but he doesn’t dwell on it for long. Soon, Chanyeol has a can of soda in hand and Yixing a bag of potato chips.

 

“Okay, here we go,” Yixing says excitedly as he raises a chip to his mouth. “This is more exciting than I thought it would be. I couldn’t even remember what a chip looked like until now.”

 

As he bites down, he makes a funny face, one that hints at disgust or discomfort and then, as quickly as the chip entered his mouth, it leaves it.

 

 _“Ew!_ What the hell?” He screams as he spits crumbs onto the polished floor beneath his feet. “It tastes like goddamn _window cleaner,_ or something.”

 

Chanyeol immediately sets his can far away from him on the floor, not daring to open it now.

 

“Are you okay?” Baekhyun asks Yixing who has started to grab at his stomach.

 

Yixing shakes his head frantically. “No. I feel _sick._ God, I hate this place and everything in it. _”_  
  
“Just sit down. You’ll be okay,” Chanyeol says softly. “We should’ve known better.”

 

Yixing obliges, and for a moment, Baekhyun thinks that things will be fine. Yixing has started to calm down and talk of moving forward, and the chips don’t seem the have any effect on him.

 

But, as usual, the world is totally against Byun Baekhyun.

 

As Baekhyun sinks back into his chair, Yixing starts to groan in pain.

 

“I feel like I’m dying!” he screams as he clutches his abdomen and squeezes his eyes shut tight.

 

“You’re gonna be fine, Yixing,” Chanyeol says firmly as he grabs ahold of his friend’s hand.

 

Yixing shakes his head frantically as he gasps for air through his suffering. “No. This hurts so bad.”  


“So, I guess we know what happens when we eat,” Baekhyun mumbles as he watches Yixing groan and scream.

 

Chanyeol sighs as he turns away from Yixing, rising to his feet as he does. “These people are crazy. He just wanted some _chips.”_  
Yixing groans once more. “Yeah, I just-”  


The man’s words are cut off by the vomit that suddenly spews from his mouth. The waterfall seems never-ending as Yixing heaves and heaves, now on his hands and nears as his tears mix with the foul substance that leaves his throat.

 

“I guess food sort of has the same effect on us as poison would,” Chanyeol whispers with a gasp as Baekhyun pats the sick man’s back.

 

“Or maybe the food was poisoned?” Baekhyun suggests as Yixing gags below him.

 

“Whichever it is, I’m mad. Why do they play with us so much?”

 

Baekhyun just shakes his head sadly and frowns as he waits for Yixing to stop puking, which seems as though it takes years. And, when he finally does, the man flops over onto his side, right into a pile of his own vomit.

 

Both Baekhyun, Chanyeol, and a newly awakened Junmyeon gag as Yixing falls, his hair and clothes now covered in vomit. However, the gagging soon stops when they all realize that Yixing doesn’t seem to be moving anymore. He is only slumped on the floor, unmoving as the last of his own vomit drips from his lips.

 

“Yixing?” Junmyeon murmurs from his chair, trying his best to sit up even though he’s too weak to move much anymore.

 

Baekhyun then, ignoring his queasy stomach, reaches over and shakes Yixing’s shoulder, but his lifeless eyes stay staring at the floor below him.

 

“Yixing?” Baekhyun calls in vain.

 

He knows that his friend is dead, that his time is up, but he just can’t seem to admit to himself. So, he continues to shake the body, screaming Yixing’s name over and over as if it will call his soul back to his body.

 

Eventually, Chanyeol grab’s the boy’s arms and pulls him away as he thrashes and screams, his heart unable to handle this much loss at once.

 

“LET ME GO!” he screams as Chanyeol pins him down to a chair, his mind in a frenzy.

 

He doesn’t just want to leave Yixing there all by himself as he has done with everyone else that he’s lost. He wants to go to him, to hold him and let him know that Baekhyun loves him, even if there’s no point.

 

“Baekhyun, please stop!” Chanyeol pleads as Baekhyun continuously struggles.

 

“NO!” Baekhyun roars through tears. “HE _NEEDS_ SOMEONE!”

 

“Baekhyun, _please!”_

 

Baekhyun only continues to thrash and demand release until that familiar soft yet powerful voice booms deep into the sane parts of his mind.

 

“BYUN BAEKHYUN, THAT MAN DOESN’T NEED ANYONE ANYMORE; HE’S _DEAD!”_

 

Baekhyun’s crazed eyes dart over to Junmyeon, who is breathing heavily as he sits straight up in his chair, his eyes full of force and his expression more serious than it ever has been.

 

“Have you completely _lost it?”_ Junmyeon asks as he scoffs and shakes his head in disbelief. “You have got to keep it together, Baekhyun. I know you’re in a lot of pain, and that you’ve reached your breaking point. Believe me, I have too. But get it together for the rest of us, if you would. There’s no sense in all of this bullshit.”  


Baekhyun only stares at Junmyeon with his mouth hanging wide open as he realizes what he’s done. He’s completely lost his grip and finally went off the deep end that he’d been so desperately trying to avoid.

 

“I’m sorry,” he mumbles as Chanyeol releases his wrists and flops into a chair with a tired huff.

 

He wipes his tears away as Chanyeol quickly gathers himself and stands up yet again.

 

“We should leave now. I don’t want to be here anymore.”

 

Everyone immediately agrees, equally as eager to escape the sight of Yixing’s dead body. Chanyeol offers to take first shift on carrying Junmyeon, who is now so overcome with pain that he can barely stand.

 

As the group begins their travels again, Baekhyun feels tears prick the corners of his eyes once more as he sheds his filthy jacket and covers Yixing’s face with it, taking a moment to remember the blind man who found a way to finally see the light again as he does.

 

“Let’s go,” Chanyeol urges Baekhyun, pulling on his arm as he does.

 

Baekhyun holds up a finger to him as he takes just one more moment to take deep breaths and let the tears drip onto his lips. One human can only deal with so much loss at once, and Baekhyun is sure that he passed the limit a _long_ time ago. His heart doesn’t even feel as though it is within his body anymore, but completely faded into a whole other place where things are happy and no one dies so that it may heal and ignore all of the pain that has been inflicted upon it.

 

Almost everyone is gone now, and he doesn’t exactly know how he will carry on.

 

Finally, despite his doubts of his own strength, Baekhyun joins Chanyeol and Junmyeon and pushes forward and out of the door at the other side of the deadly lobby, which only contains _more stairs._

 

 

 

 

Baekhyun knows that the next door they reach is the last one before Chanyeol even _opens it,_ but he isn’t exactly sure _how._ All he knows is that he feels a sense of relief and excitement upon reaching another white door with a window, and that the excitement is proven to be quite valid one Baekhyun is faced with what’s on the other side.

 

In front of him lies a large, wide open room with shining gold floors and a dome ceiling made _completely_ of windows. Outside, he sees the glorious blue sky with its fluffy, white clouds and beautiful sun. It’s magical and so very heavenly, wonderful and glorious.

 

With Junmyeon in his arms, Baekhyun gives Chanyeol an excited glance and then begins to sprint as fast as he can with a grown man in his arms towards the glass door on the other end. His feet pump faster and faster, his body overcome with energy and a new-found sense of hope as he gets closer and closer.

 

He’s never felt so free or so absolutely _joyful_ in his life as he bursts through the door and gulps in deep, beautiful breaths of fresh air. His lungs feel as though they have been thirsty for this moment for years and are finally getting their well-deserved drink. The sun shines merrily on Baekhyun’s face, and he lays Junmyeon on the ground and then collapses into the soft grass beneath his feet without another thought, letting the feeling of finally being free totally devour him.

 

Chanyeol soon joins him on the ground and entwines their hands.

 

“Oh my god,” Junmyeon mumbles, his voice barely a whisper. “We made it.”

 

The three lay together in the grass, not even bothering to get up and try to run. If Baekhyun were to die right now in this very second, he comes to the conclusion that he wouldn’t be too upset with that. He has the love of his life, his best friend, and when they’re laying together like this under the sky, he feels like he is a part of a normal group of people. He could die feeling loved and knowing that he _made it._ No matter how many sacrifices he had to make or loved ones that he lost along the way, he still _made it._ He has avenged the many deaths that he has witnessed by reaching this point, and he couldn’t be prouder of himself.

 

There’s no better feeling in the world than _victory._


	19. Chapter 19

When Baekhyun, Chanyeol, and Junmyeon finally decide to get up out of the grass and find a way back to civilization, the couple walk hand-in-hand, their love growing even at a time like _this._ Junmyeon has gained enough strength to at least keep his feet moving along with them, for which he is grateful.

 

“This is too easy,” mumbles Chanyeol as they walk. “How did they just let us walk out? There weren’t any guards, or anything.”

 

Baekhyun immediately shushes him. “Don’t question your luck. Just walk.”  


Looking behind him, Baekhyun can see that the building that they exited actually looks quite small from the surface. It’s only a single-room brown building with no sign to mark its name and no cars in its parking lot, but Baekhyun knows of the insidious monsters that reside within its walls.

 

“Yixing would’ve liked this,” Junmyeon mutters as he stares up at the bright sky above him. “He hadn’t seen the sky in forever.”  


Chanyeol and Baekhyun only nod along, too heartbroken to say much about the man they just recently lost.

 

“What do you want to do when we get back?” Chanyeol asks Baekhyun as they walk side-by-side, changing the subject to one more hopeful.

 

Baekhyun grins, his head on a temporary high as it momentarily forgets just how _painful_ it was to glimpse upon all of those dead faces during the past few days.

 

 “Well, _first,_ I want to have a sort of remembrance for all of them, you know? Even though their bodies are still in there, their souls are still in our _hearts,_ and we shouldn’t forget that, you know?”

 

Chanyeol nods, his eyes lighting up at Baekhyun’s idea. From beside of them Junmyeon nods alomg as well.

 

“I’d like to do that.”

 

Even though the pain is still present and most likely will be for the rest of his life, Baekhyun uses this time to push past all of it just for a moment. He’s _very_ sure that the full reality of most of his new family dying hasn’t really hit him yet. Their deaths were all too sudden and completely _random_ for his mind to truly process what he had seen, but he’s not complaining; that just lets him focus on his mission ahead.

 

 _“Then,”_ Baekhyun continues, “I’d like to get some ice cream.”  


“Just _ice cream?”_ Chanyeol asks with a giggle.

 

Baekhyun nods excitedly. “Yes, _ice cream._ I want to get ice cream with you two. That’d be nice.”  
  
“Will do,” Chanyeol murmurs.

 

Junmyeon scoffs. “Wow, you have some _great_ goals set, Baekhyun.”

 

“Hey, look at that!” Baekhyun shouts as he points far ahead of the two men. “I see a big fence. Maybe that’s our last obstacle.”  
  
The fence that comes into vision rises into the sky and seems to wrap around in a circle, trapping all helpless creatures in this place forever.

 

“But how are we going to climb _that?”_ Chanyeol scoffs.

 

Baekhyun shrugs. “They’ve left all of the doors open until now. Maybe we’re lucky enough for _this_ to be unlocked, too.”

 

Chanyeol looks quite unsure as the three begin to make their across the parking lot of the seemingly abandoned property towards the fence, but Baekhyun doesn’t bother comforting him; they’re too close now to stop for _small talk._

 

As soon as Baekhyun reaches the fence, his feet slapping against the pavement as he races to the finish line, he starts to _laugh._ Before this moment, he had merely been _touching his tongue_ to the sweet, spongey delicacy that is freedom, but now, he is about to take his first huge bite.

 

“Guys,” Baekhyun breathes as his hands latch onto the bars of the black, rusting fence, “I think it’s _locked.”_  
  


Chanyeol pushes past him to see the gate, which won’t budge no matter how hard either of them attempt to pull upon it.

 

 _“Damnit!”_ Chanyeol screams as he runs a hand through his fading hair. _“Now_ what?”

 

This is a question that Baekhyun truly _cannot_ answer. _Now what?_ What do they do if the other side is so close yet _so_ far away? What is the next step in their journey?

 

Baekhyun slowly feels himself lose his chance at tasting freedom as he turns away from the gate.

 

“I don’t think we can _climb_ this thing,” Chanyeol mutters as he starts to pace back and forth.

Junmyeon groans. “No way. Especially me.”

 

Baekhyun shakes his head as he turns back to face the small dirt road that lies outside of the fence. “So, what do we do?”  


“What you do, is stay _here,”_ the eerily familiar, ever-so-deadly female voice that he had just recently heard on the intercom in the room where Jongdae disappeared echoes across the lot.

 

Baekhyun is almost too terrified to turn his head. He knows _damn well_ what’s behind him, but he just doesn’t want to believe that it’s really. Before, he had been content with the idea of being caught, but now, he can’t _stand it._ He, Junmyeon, and Chanyeol have lost too much and been through too much pain only to make it this far and be hopelessly captured once more.

 

“Just let us _go,”_ Baekhyun hears Chanyeol growl from his side.

 

Slowly, the man finds it within himself to turn around and is faced with the same woman that had been in his room when he was taken away from the others. She is professional and business-like, radiating power and seeming almost _human_ as she calmly stands before Baekhyun in a white pantsuit.

 

The woman smiles brightly once her eyes fix on Baekhyun, as if he’s the most _beautiful_ creature in the world.

  
“Hello, _Byun Baekhyun,”_ the woman whispers as she beams. “I’ve been waiting for the day that I would finally see my _star_ once more.”  
  
A shiver runs down Baekhyun’s spine at her words, but he tries desperately not to let his fear register on his face as he balls his hands into fists defensively.

 

“If you’re gonna kill us or take us back into that _hell hole,_ just _do it already_ and get it over with!” Baekhyun yells, all of his built-up fury pouring out in his words.

 

The woman shakes her head as she waves the man off. “I would never hurt _you,_ Baekhyun. However,…”

 

She trails off as her eyes land on Junmyeon, whose arm is cradled to his chest.

 

“I might as well put you out of your misery, hmm?”

Baekhyun immediately jumps in front of a now panicked Junmyeon. “No. No way. Leave him be.”  


“But, he’s _suffering,_ Baekhyun. He can barely move, at this point. He’s not living, anymore, just surviving. The infection will eat at him soon if I don’t do this. Just let me do away with him. You’re all going to die soon, anyway.”  


Baekhyun’s heart races as the woman forcefully grabs Baekhyun by the hair and flings him into the cool pavement. His head begins to throb on impact with the rocky ground below him, and he can barely stand to open his eyes as he hears Chanyeol attempt to protect Junmyeon too, only to be thrown into the ground as well.

 

Then, the familiar sound of a gunshot rings, and the sound of a body hitting the floor follows it.

 

Baekhyun can’t even force himself to scream or even cry as he realizes what’s happened. Within his mind, it’s as if a short movie is playing, one that pays tribute to the best leader and friend in the world.

 

To Baekhyun, Junmyeon had been a sort of teacher, as well as a best friend.         

 

He was much than just any old guy _._ Junmyeon was a smart, strong-willed, and a natural born leader that could make Baekhyun think positively and feel safe at any given moment, no matter what was going on. He led everyone through tough times and times of doubt, only to have his life stolen from him in the blink of an eye.

 

Junmyeon had shined a light in Baekhyun’s life, creating happiness and joy in moments where despair ruled. He was a kind soul that never meant any harm. He was the only person that Baekhyun has ever thought of as a best friend, as a right-hand man. He was by far the one, besides Chanyeol, that had appealed to Baekhyun the most. Junmyeon had just been so soft and so loving that Baekhyun could hardly resist him.

 

So, as he lies with his face buried in the ground, Baekhyun takes a moment to think of Junmyeon and remember him in the way that he should be remembered, not with tears streaming down his cheeks or burns all over his arm.

 

He remembers his best friend’s bright eyes and babyish smile. Baekhyun recalls his leader’s tiny hands and constantly fluffy hair. He thinks of Junmyeon’s warm hugs and soft words that made everything seem okay. He relives his moments with one of the best and most supportive men that he has ever met, letting his heart grieve as the memories swirl behind of his closed eyelids.

 

Once his small film stops playing, he doesn’t bother to hit rewind and let the tears flow, but instead Baekhyun rises to his feet to face the demonic woman before him, who now has blood all over her clothes. He tells himself that he must be strong and keep going, for that’s what the man who once dwelled in the body that lies on the ground would have wanted. He would have told Baekhyun to keep going and to never, _ever_ stop, no matter how much his heart hurt.

 

Chanyeol has already stood up and together, the couple go against the woman for one last stand-off, pushing away the pain for another time.

 

“What do you want?” Baekhyun asks, his voice strong and powerful.

 

The woman smiles gently. “I only came here to talk to you, to fill you in on some things. We’ve been _watching,_ you know. We knew all about your little plan to escape, which was obviously going to happen sooner or later. We’ve seen _everything,_ but we’ve always been focused on _you,_ my love.”  


 So many questions race through Baekhyun’s mind at this, but he decides to start with a simple one.

 

“Who are you?”

 

The woman shrugs as she lazily stuffs her hands into the pockets of her blood-stained pants and begins to page about the parking lot. “We’ve met before, but I suppose you never got any word of who exactly I _am._ I’m the person you should be angry with, I suppose. I did _everything.”  
_  
“What’s _‘everything?’”_ Chanyeol asks softly.

 

The woman shrugs again as if this is normal, everyday conversation. “I _chose_ you, all nine of you, and I sent my lovely girls out to bring you to me. I’m the reason you’re in this mes”

 

“Did you kill our other friends, too?” Baekhyun asks as uncontrollable tears drip from his eyes.

 

The woman sighs as she stops her pacing and stares Baekhyun right in the eyes. “I _did,_ sadly. Sorry about that, by the way. I had to do what I had to do.”

 

“You didn’t _have_ to do any of this!” Baekhyun screams as he starts to sob, his emotions getting the best of him as Junmyeon’s face begins to float around in brain once more.

 

He’s angry, so furious and full of hate, but so, _so_ broken at the same time. Everything is consuming him at once, eating him _alive_ as the woman replies with a pleading voice of reason:  


“But, I _did,_ Baekhyun! I had to get rid of them for _you._ They’re all so unimportant, so utterly _worthless,_ compared to you. Do you know who you _are?_ You’re the one that will _shine,_ that could rule the _world_ if he wanted to! You are practically _God,_ Baekhyun!”  
_  
_ Baekhyun’s crying turns to screaming as he takes two steps closer to the woman.

 

“If they’re so _worthless,_ why did you bring all of them in here? Why not just take me and _only_ me? Why bring everyone else into this?  
  
_“Because,”_ the woman cries, “I looked in on your life back in the real world. You were so _unhappy,_ Baekhyun. I saw that you had two personalities: one confident, untouchable one for your school peers and another, shy and caring one for you to see. Your parents abused you, your successful yet friendly sister made you feel inferior, and you just felt so _alone.”_

 

The woman pauses for a moment to let her words sink in, and Baekhyun can now _physically_ feel himself breaking apart. Her words are so truth-filled that they’re painful _,_ and he can barely take it.

 

“I had to give you people to make a life with! I had to give you _love_ and let you see true affection in its _rawest_ form! I brought in a school mate to give you a familiar face, especially since said school mate could barely stand to see you in class; he _despised_ you. But I made him see the real you and let you see that _anyone_ can love you, Byun Baekhyun! You’re special, don’t you see? I created relationships all around you so that you would understand what it looked like to love and then gave _you_ someone to love so that you may feel it as well and gain your _humanity_ back! Don’t you see that I was only _helping_ you by bringing you here, that this was all for your benefit?”  


_“Wait,”_ Chanyeol cuts in, his voice a soft whisper, “what do you mean by you ‘ _created’_ relationships?”  


If Baekhyun didn’t know any better, he would say that the woman almost looks _nervous_ as she goes to answer Chanyeol’s question with a sad smile.

 

“I only wanted to find men who would fit perfectly with _Baekhyun,_ who would appeal to his ideal type of friend and roomate, but six of which weren’t homosexual in _any_ way, which is what I needed to make love blossom within those walls. So, I gave just a few of them a little something extra to get them… _together.”_  
  


Baekhyun begins to panic at this statement. Everything he knew was a _lie._ And, what if _Chanyeol_ was one of the men whose feelings were only created by some weird _injection?_ What if everything that the man said that he felt for Baekhyun was only a result of some stupid simulation?

 

“Who?” Chanyeol roars as he grabs onto Baekhyun’s hand. _“WHO_ DID YOU DO THAT TO?”

“Only Minseok, Jongdae, and Jongin!” The woman cries as she throws her hands up in surrender. “That’s all! I simply erased their memories of heterosexuality so that they would cooperate and not be too confused with their new feelings, but don’t be confused! I didn’t plan on who would be with who, so their chemistry was created solely by _them._ If they hadn’t had been attracted to men, the same pairs would have been at least _friends.”_

 

Relief immediately floods Baekhyun’s body as he squeezes his lover’s hand. However, the words still hurt. Baekhyun had always admired Minseok and Jongdae’s extreme love for each other, for their total infatuation with each other and their unconditional devotion to their relationship. Now, he knows it was all just an _experiment,_ and this hurts him most of all.

 

“I chose the other eight men all for specific reasons that related to you, Baekhyun,” the woman continues, “Jongin since he was bright, cheery, and usually positive, just like how you _used_ to be.”

 

The words _“used to be”_ bounce around inside of Baekhyun’s mind and scream at him angrily, reminding him that he truly _has_ changed for the worse as the woman continues to speak.

 

“I chose Minseok since he was such a ball of sunshine; I knew he would match _perfectly_ with you and help you become a better person. However, I had to erase his memory because…let’s just say, his past was too _complicated_ to be dealt with. But, he slowly gained bits and pieces back with the help of all of you. I’m glad he got his name back before he passed; that will help you keep him close in your heart.”

 

“I chose Jongdae since, even though he was a bit stubborn and easily hurt people’s feelings, he was kind on the inside. But, I _knew_ I should’ve gotten rid of him first once I heard that nice bit about him being awake when we captured him. I still cannot believe that I didn’t notice before. Anyway, I chose Kyungsoo since he was your classmate obviously, and because he hated you. I love when things get interesting, and that was the perfect touch. Yixing was chosen because he was needy and sentimental and Sehun because of his crippling mental illness, homosexuality, and ability to bond with others like a small child. And, Junmyeon…Kim Junmyeon was _special._ I almost wish that I had kept him alive, at this point _._ He was _such_ a good leader, such a good _person._ I know you loved him, my dear.”  


Baekhyun begins to sob once more as she speaks.

 

“And _Chanyeol,”_ the woman says, her voice now soft as she steps closer to Chanyeol and grins, “you were chosen because I knew Baekhyun would absolutely _love you._ Any handsome, bisexual boy living in the heart of Seoul that had a love for romance and action would do for Byun Baekhyun, but I knew that you were _just_ the one. You just have that special _something,_ you know?”

 

“No. I _don’t_ know,” Chanyeol mumbles through tears as he clears his throat. “What’s your _point_ in all of this?”

 

“My point,” the creator explains as she steps back, “is simply to get rid of all of the confusion that is clouding your minds, and to congratulate Baekhyun on how well he did with his new family. I’m so glad that you were able to have this experience, Baekhyun.”

 

Baekhyun cringes at her statement; she makes it sound like a luxury vacation or once-in-a-lifetime trip.

 

“Anyway,” the woman continues with an excited grin, “yes, I’m mostly just saying all of this to answer some of the questions that I know you both have. For example, I’ll tell you that I gave everyone besides Baekhyun powers just to entertain you in that place and make you feel special, too. If you check, Chanyeol, you’ll see that your powers should have worn off by now, which was the point of the serum: _temporary_ super-human abilities.”

 

And, sure enough, when Chanyeol attempts to create flames in his palms, he’s unsuccessful.

 

“The same thing happened to Yixing, as well. He couldn’t heal Junmyeon, not out of a lack of focus, but because his time as a healer was up. And, if you were wondering, he couldn’t have saved Minseok, even if he tried. His powers were only so strong, you know. They couldn’t save a nearly dead man.

 

“I’ll also tell you,” the woman continues as she watches a now powerless Chanyeol struggle to summon the ability that he had come to cherish, “that the reason that your eyes are black is simply an effect of all of the experimental drugs we gave you, as well as your skin being so shimmery.”

 

“But, why are my eyes _red?”_ Chanyeol ponders softly as he finally gives up on his fire.

 

The woman shrugs. “That was just me having fun _._ You were punished, and I thought I’d make it a little more interesting. But isn’t it so _cool?_ You were the master of fire, and your eyes and hair were _red;_ how _unique!”_

 

“You’re _sick,”_ Chanyeol grumbles.

 

The woman pays no attention to the man and instead turns to Baekhyun, who still has tears streaming down his cheeks.

 

“Why can’t we eat?” Baekhyun asks through sobs. “Why did Yixing _die_ from some chips?”

 

The woman waves him off as she scoffs. “That was just the chips. You could eat all you want and not be affected. I only made you the way you are now so that it would take out the complications of eating and using the restroom and all of _that_ fun stuff. We planted all of the vending machines there, hoping that one of you would get curious enough to try it, which was all poisoned. I knew that you wouldn’t, though, my dear Baekhyun. You’re too clever for that.”

 

“Anyway, enough of the explaining; that’s boring. It’s time to get down to _business._ Baekhyun, I brought you here because you are destined to be a _hero,_ to be the new savior of the _world._ I’m sorry for all of the pain that I have caused you and will cause you in the near future, but I have to do what’s best for not only myself and the whole _world,_ but for _you,_ Byun Baekhyun. I apologize for ending the lives of those you care for and for doing it so suddenly and in such strange ways; I do realize that I truly _am_ terrible for that. I sincerely apologize for everything. You are such a beautiful, creative, wonderful young man that I am _so_ proud of. You have made it _so far,_ and I appreciate that. But I _must_ ask that you come back with me to fulfill your duties as the master of light and of the new world. You won’t regret it, I _swear._ You will do _amazing_ things!”

 

Baekhyun shakes his head immediately. “What about my _real_ life? God, I don’t even know what you’re _talking_ about. You’re probably just some crazy scientist bitch that wanted to mess with some kids. There is no ‘master of light,’ and I’m no ‘savior’ that’s for damn sure.”

 

The woman rolls her eyes. “If you would just come back with me, you would see the truth and understand! You are worth so much more than what you believe that you are!”  


 Baekhyun simply ignores her words. “What about Chanyeol, hmm? I can’t leave him. And, how could I just fucking _work_ for you when all you’ve done is destroy me and everyone I care about?”  
  
The woman groans as she reaches into the pocket of her jacket. When she withdraws her hand, she holds a small pistol, and the sight of the gleaming metal makes Baekhyun want to puke. Guns like those have taken _so much_ from him already, one just happening moments ago.

 

“I said that I was _sorry,_ my love,” the woman replies, her voice still calm but yet now somehow very intimidating. “There’s not much else that I can do. I know how hard it must be, but you have to _trust me.”_  
  
Baekhyun tightens his grip on Chanyeol’s hand. “Why should I leave him here?”  


“Oh, _honey,”_ the woman says, her eyes softening as she raises her gun in the air and points it right at Chanyeol’s broad chest, “You won’t be leaving _him._ It’ll be the other way around.”  


“NO!” Baekhyun screms desperately, jumping in front of his lover as he does, willing to sacrifice anything and _everything_ for the large man with shaggy hair that he has come to love so much. “Please, _please_ don’t hurt him. I’ll do _anything!_ I’ll even go with you! Just please, let him go, and I’ll do whatever you want!”  


“Don’t do that,” Chanyeol breathes from behind him, running his large hands over Baekhyun’s back as he does. “It’s _okay,_ baby. I’ll be okay.”

 

Baekhyun turns around to face Chanyeol, no longer worried about the woman, who has partially lowered her weapon to watch the couple with curious eyes.

 

“You won’t be okay! You can’t _die,_ Chanyeol, not like this. I want you to go home. I’ve seen everyone taken away, and I just don’t think I’d be able to take it if I had to see _you_ go, too. Please, just let me go and you get _out of here._ Get some ice cream for me, hmm?” Baekhyun pleads, Chanyeol’s red hot eyes burning into his as their final moments together come to a deadly close.

 

“But you can’t _stay_ here,” Chanyeol murmurs as he presses his hands to Baekhyun’s cheeks and lets his eyes take in the beautiful sight before him. “You worked so hard to get out. You can’t just go back _inside_. Please, don’t do this.”  


Baekhyun grins softly as he closes his eyes, letting this moment sink in. And, as Chanyeol reaches down and presses a quick kiss to Baekhyun’s tear-soaked lips, he decides that he has never and _will_ never love anyone more than he loves Park Chanyeol.

 

Even as they stand at the face-to-face with death itself, their love absolutely _thrives._ And, as the devilish woman suddenly shouts in anger, fed up with the cheesy love story that unfolds before her as she pulls Baekhyun away from Chanyeol, Baekhyun still finds a way to give his cherished lover one last tear-filled smile. Chanyeol returns the gesture, and in that moment, they are practically _unstoppable._

 

Despite everything that has happened, Baekhyun finds himself _grateful_ for being captured for just a _split second._ Without this place and its blood-filled corridors and pain-filled walls, Baekhyun knows that he would have _never_ found Chanyeol, the man that makes the sun shine and the rain pour, who makes the rivers flow and the moon glow. Baekhyun knows that, with all suffering, there comes a bit of prosperity. With each piece of bad luck comes a redress, and Baekhyun is sure that his is a boy who gives amazing kisses and even better hugs.

 

 He takes a second to think of every wonderful, _beautiful_ moment spent with the man he loves and to relive every precious time that Chanyeol had called Baekhyun _“baby.”_

 Then, Baekhyun closes his eyes tight as the familiar sound of a gunshot reaches his ears, and everything goes black.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this is so sad...I feel bad. I honestly didn't intend on things being like this from the beginning, but this turned out being what I wanted to due. Stay tuned, though. We still have one more chapter, and the last one is probably my favorite that I've written in this fic.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> get ready for the biggest plot twist of all time.

The first thing Baekhyun notices is that the air is cool and crisp, and the smell of flowers within it is strong and sweet. There are voices bouncing back and forth across the room, but Baekhyun has trouble deciphering who they belong to.

 

The next thing that registers in his brain is the subtle beeping noise to his side and the extreme pain that he feels in his head. He attempts to move one of his limbs or open his eyes, but he quickly finds that he’s too weak to do so. He feels as though he’s in a dream-like haze as a low voice starts to speak right next to his left ear.

 

 _“Baekhyun?_ Baekhyun, can you _hear me?_ Show me that you can hear me.”  


Baekhyun puts all of his might into moving one of the fingers on his right hand, which rests on his chest, in an attempt to communicate with whoever is near. The movement is very slight and wouldn’t be noticed by most, but the person who had asked the question starts to shout in joy, as if Baekhyun’s simple movement had just saved the entire _universe._

 

He then finally finds it within himself to peel open his eyelids and face himself with bright lights above him. As he turns his head carefully to instead face the floor where he won’t be _blinded,_ one name floats through the haze of his mind.

 

_Park Chanyeol._

 

He attempts to speak, to call out for anyone who may know where his lover is, but he has not achieved that level of strength yet.

 

As Baekhyun stares into his sheets, a man appears before his eyes. He wears a white coat and blue scrubs, which indicates to Baekhyun that this man is a doctor of some sort. The doctor beams as he pushes up his glasses with one hand and waves softly to Baekhyun with the other.

 

Soon, many nurses wearing different colored scrubs begin to shuffle into the room as well to stand behind the doctor and gape at Baekhyun.

 

“Hello, Baekhyun! It’s nice to finally see your eyes,” the doctor says brightly, the sudden loud noise causing Baekhyun to cringe a bit.

 

“How is he, Doctor?” a nurse in red scrubs asks as she steps closer to Baekhyun’s side.

 

The doctor grins as he shrugs his shoulders. “I have no clue. How about, you ask _him?”_

 

The bright-eyed nurse turns to Baekhyun with a closed-mouth smile. “How are you doing, sweetie?”

 

Baekhyun groans as the pain increases in his head with each word that’s spoken. Behind the pain, he’s thoroughly confused. Where is the woman who wanted to make Baekhyun _“save the universe?”_ And, where is Chanyeol, or even Chanyeol’s _body?_ Where is _Baekhyun?_

“Are you alright?” the nurse asks, her voice now filled with concern.

 

Baekhyun groans again and finally manages to mumble out two words. _“It hurts.”_

“He’s in pain, Doctor,” the nurse says, turning to the doctor as she does.

 

The man nods as he orders one nurse to fetch something from a cart. He turns back to Baekyun once he’s finished and grins.

 

“We’re getting you some nice medicine for your IV, okay? Then, we can talk about what happened.”  
  
Baekhyun grows even more confused at this, but doesn’t decide to focus on it. Instead, he focuses on a tiny nurse with light brown hair and a shy grin that is beginning to push a clear liquid into Baekhyun’s bloodstream. Immediately, there is sweet relief. It’s as if Baekhyun is sent into a _beautiful_ place filled with rainbows made of soft candy and rivers flowing with brightly-colored cotton candy.

 

After a few moments, the doctor returns and pulls a chair up to an already exhausted Baekhyun’s bed.

 

“So, Mr. Byun, do you need anything else before we start?”

 

Baekhyun decides that this is his moment to ask, to get his answers.

 

“Where is he?”

 

The doctor gives Baekhyun a confused glance. “Who?”

 

Baekhyun closes his eyes as that beautiful face greets him within his mind. “Where’s Chanyeol?”  
  
As he opens his eyes again, Baekhyun sees that the doctor is now frowning at him. “No one named Chanyeol has been here to see you. What’s his full name? I could have one of my nurses look him up and try to find him, if it’s a big deal, of course.”

 

Baekhyu nods his head, even though he’s sure that Chanyeol must not be here too since he’s probably dead. “His name is Park Chanyeol.”

 

The doctor gives Baekhyun a nod and quickly excuses himself from the room. Once he’s gone, all of the pain in Baekhyun’s heart catches up to him as he remembers all of the dead bodies of his friends. How he wishes that he could be with them right now and not in this strange place where that awful woman probably brought him.

 

The doctor soon returns, and Baekhyun is immediately worried when he notices the worried look that rests on his face. However, Baekhyun still manages to feel bit of hope.

 

The doctor sighs as he takes a seat again. “Baekhyun, we searched through all of our systems, and there’s no one named Park Chanyeol within kilometers of here. Are you sure you aren’t getting any names confused?”  


Baekhyun can practically feel his heart stop as the doctor speaks, but he just waves the words off and grins as if it’s no big deal. However, he’s just about ready to start screaming. He wishes desperately that he knew what was going on.

 

 “Now,” the doctor speaks again, “do you know where you are?”

 

Baekhyun shakes his head slightly. He obviously knows that he’s in a _hospital,_ but _where?_ He has no clue.

 

The doctor sighs as he takes a peek at a clipboard that he holds in one hand. _“Well,_ you’re in the hospital. You know the one by your home, the memorial hospital?”

 

Baekhyun’s heart races at this, and the monitor to his heart starts to beep faster and faster.

 

How did he get _here?_ How did he _escape?_ How did they find him out there in that place? __  
  


“Are you alright?” the doctor asks, addressing the heart monitor with a nod of his head.

 

Baekhyun simply nods, and the man continues.

 

“Now, do you know _why_ you’re here?”

 

Baekhyun shakes his head, becoming increasingly nervous as time moves on.

 

The doctor runs a hand through his thinning hair and takes off his glasses to look Baekhyun straight in the eye.

 

“Well, I’ll give it to you _straight:_ you tried to commit suicide almost a month ago, and you’ve been in here since.”

 

 _“What?”_ Baekhyun asks, his mouth dry as his blood runs cold.

 

“No one knows _why_ you did it,” the doctor explains as Baekhyun’s thoughts run completely wild, “but you must have been pretty determined. You downed a _whole_ bottle of anti-depressants and fell into a coma. Your family was here a bit ago. They don’t seem too worried about you; I guess they knew you’d wake up.”  


Baekhyun shakes his head at this statement. His parents were lacking worry only because they don’t _care_ about him. He wonders, for a split second, if the doctors and nurses saw his bruises…

 

“So, Baekhyun, do _you_ want to tell me why you did it and just make things easier for yourself for when the mental health councilor comes?”  


Baekhyun shakes his head immediately; he can’t tell someone why he did something that he doesn’t even _remember_ doing.

 

The doctor sighs heavily as he scribbles something down on his clipboard. “Alright then. Do you have any questions before I leave? I have to go have lunch with my wife, soon.”  


Baekhyun clears his throat as he goes to speak, the pieces of this sickening puzzle slowly coming together within his mind. “So, you’re telling me…I’ve been asleep this _whole time?_ You found me at my house on the floor somewhere? Not in like…the middle of _nowhere?”  
_  
The doctor only chuckles as he rises to his feet and returns his glasses to his face. “Yes. You’ve been asleep since October 2 nd. It’s _November,_ now.”  
  
Baekhyun feels sick to his stomach as this fact hits him smack in the face. That’s the last day he remembers before he was taken to that place: _October 2_ nd. 

As the reality of what’s happened hits Baekhyun, he begins to panic. His hands shake and he feels sick to his stomach as he realizes the cruel, practically unbelievably and utterly _sickening_ truth.

 “And, about the middle of nowhere thing,” the doctor continues with a playful shake of his head as Baekhyun begins to breathe heavily and shed a few tears, “you must be stuck in _dream world,_ kid. They found you in your _bathtub,_ not in the _forest._ But speaking of _dreams,_ you must have had a pretty wild one. The nurses tell me your heart rate would soar and fall all the time, and sometimes, you even _grinned_ very slightly in your sleep, which is kinda unheard of and something I thought was impossible, but the body can do as it pleases, I suppose. It was pretty freaky, but I’m glad you’re awake now, Baekhyun. You really are a _lucky one!”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AHHH!!! I cannot believe that this is finally finished! this ending is so cool to me since it's so unexpected and makes u go WOAH!??!?!!? BUT it is sad, and i'm super sorry for all of the broken hearts that I've caused :( however, I still hope you guys liked this story. thank you so much for the incredible amount of support that all of you, my amazing readers, have given me. stay tuned for my new fics that will be started soon! they will most definitely not be as painful as this one was. 
> 
> I love you all so much, with my whole heart. I hope that this ending blows your mind, even if it's terribly sad. thank you for everything.


End file.
